Güeros | CALAC

General Information

Release year

2014

Director

Alonso Ruizpalacios

Biography of director(s)

Alonso Ruizpalacios (September 1978 - Present) is a Mexican script writer and director. He was raised in Mexico City where he studied stage directing before moving to London to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Güeros was Alonso's debut feature at 37 years old, and remains one of his most well-known works. He also briefly appeared in the film as Dr. Ibarra.

Country

Mexico

Original synopsis of the film

13-year-old troublemaker Tomás (Sebastian Aguirre) is sent to live with his older brother "Sombra" (Tenoch Huerta), a student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Sombra and his roommate Santos (Leonardo Ortizgris) live in a rundown apartment. They aren't attending classes as the school's student body is currently on strike due to the institution's recent addition of an enrollment fee. The boys have no interest in participating in the strike.

Tomás finally prompts Sombra and Santos to leave the apartment when he learns that his favorite musician, Epigmeneo Cruz (Alfonso Charpener), is near death at a nearby hospital. Tomás is determined to pay his respects.

The remainder of the movie follows the boys on a wild goose chase through the city in search of Epigmeneo Cruz. They have various encounters along the way and are eventually joined by avid student activist Ana (Ilse Salas), Sombra's love interest.

Overall, the movie explores themes of youth, social disparities, and political unrest. I would describe this movie as a coming of age against the backdrop of Mexico's own growing pains.

Film Awards

Ariel Awards Best Picture

Ariel Awards Best Sound

Ariel Awards Best Cinematography

Ariel Awards Best First Feature Film

Ariel Awards Best Director

Tribeca Film Festival Best Cinematography

Internationale Berliner Filmfestspiele Best First Feature Film

AFI Special Jury Mention for Screenwriting

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Mise-en-scène

Describes the setting of a scene in a play or a film. It refers to everything placed on the stage or in front of the camera—including people. In other words, mise en scène is a catch-all for everything that contributes to the visual presentation and overall “look” of a production. When translated from French, it means “placing on stage.”

Setting

Location

Explanation

Filmed in 2014 in Veracruz and throughout Mexico City. A few noteworthy locations include Coyoacán, Chapultepec Zoo, and Ciudad Universitaria (University City), the main campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

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Props

Explanation

The two most prominent props of the film include Tomas’s cassette player and cigarettes. The cassette player may have symbolized disconnect from modern life and a tether to the boys’ father, as it had belonged to him. The casually smoked cigarettes symbolize boredom and rebellion. Other props include a Polaroid camera and bottles of alcohol.

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Lighting

Low key

Explanation

The lighting is often low key, creating dark and shadowy renderings of the characters. This contributes to a moody atmosphere.

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Costume

Explanation

All of the protagonists’ costumes consist of casual t-shirts, jeans, zip-up hoodies, and sneakers, reflecting a youthful and casual tone, as well as a rebellious disregard for societal expectations. Ana is especially disheveled as she’s been living at the university throughout the protests. The outfits are fitting of the late 1990s time period in which the movie takes place.

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Hair and Makeup

Explanation

The makeup is natural and indistinct. Apart from Ana’s eyeliner and lipstick, the lack of makeup contributes to the disheveled look of the rebellious group of youth, as dark circles and imperfect skin is visible. This also serves to give the film a documentary-like feel, rather than a romanticized Hollywood portrayal. Makeup is only called into attention in a flirtatious scene in which Ana reapplies her lipstick while Sombra watches.

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Figure Behavior

Explanation

The acting is natural and understated. Characters use minimal gestures and relaxed postures, such as slouching, yet their facial expressions are expressive and are often highlighted in close-up shots.

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Representative Clip

Explanation

This clip displays the casual postures of the actors as well as their disheveled costumes and makeup looks. It features the prop of a cigarette, which adds to the casual and rebellious energy of the film. It is shot on location at UNAM.

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Cinematography

This is the art of photography and visual storytelling in a motion picture or television show. Cinematography comprises all on-screen visual elements, including lighting, framing, composition, camera motion, camera angles, film selection, lens choices, depth of field, zoom, focus, color, exposure, and filtration. Cinematography sets and supports the overall look and mood of a film’s visual narrative. Each visual element that appears on screen, a.k.a. the mise-en-scène of a film, can serve and enhance the story—so it is the cinematographer’s responsibility to ensure that every element is cohesive and support the story. Filmmakers often choose to spend the majority of their budget on high-quality cinematography to guarantee that the film will look incredible on the big screen.

Point of View

Indirect Subjective

Comments

With an indirect point of view, we are shown the characters from an external perspective. The point of view is also subjective, as the way the film is shot often reflects Sombra's emotions. For instance, when Sombra is having a panic attack, the camera cuts in extremely closely and shakes intensely, so that the audience experiences the anxiety and discomfort alongside Sombra. Likewise, when Sombra is listening to music, the camera slowly cuts in to the pleasurable expression on his face, drawing the audience into the intimacy of the moment. Interestingly, there is one scene in which the POV switches to direct subjective when the fourth wall is broken. In this scene, a character look directly into the camera as he criticizes artsy films, and this ironic and self-deprecating line draws the audience's attention to the film itself.

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Quality

Contrast

Comments

As a black and white film, the director uses high-contrast shots with high image clarity. This artistic choice creates a noticeable difference between stuffy interior scenes and light outdoor scenes.

The director also utilizes both deep focus and soft focus in different scenes. For instance, deep focus is utilized to show a startlingly sharp image of a tiger at the zoo, while soft focus is utilized when Sombra is having a panic attack to soften the frame's edges and contribute to the sense of disarray.

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Framing

Level Angle

Comments

The framing in Guerös is primarily level angle, further enhancing the viewer’s experience of traveling through the city alongside the characters. The frames are occasionally off-centered or asymmetrical.

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Scale

Medium Long Shot

Comments

The majority of the film is shot in medium long shots that frame the characters from about the knees up, so that we may observe both the charters and their interaction with their wider surroundings. In indoor scenes, the scale is occasionally more close-up to the characters, while in outdoor scenes, the frame is occasionally more distant to capture the surroundings.

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Movement

Handheld Camera (Steady Camera)

Comments

In line with the film’s objective of making the viewer feel as though they are experiencing the city alongside the characters, the director primarily uses a handheld (steady) camera, giving the film a naturalistic and casual feel. For instance, this clip includes a scene in which Ana gives the group a tour of the activists' headquarters, and a handheld camera follows the characters, allowing the viewer to feel as though they too were passing through the halls. Pan and tracking shots are occasionally employed to follow the characters in other scenes, especially those which are dialogue-heavy.

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Editing

Editing is the process of putting a film together–the selection and arrangement of shots and scenes. Editing can condense space and time, emphasize separate elements and bring them together, and organize material in such a way that patterns of meaning become apparent. In addition, editing can determine how a film is perceived: for instance, quick, rapid cuts can create a feeling of tension, while a long take can create a more dramatic effect. The first photoplays generally had no cutting, owing to the fact that they were single-reel films; once filming began, you could not stop until the film ran out. (https://filmglossary.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/term/editing/)

Coherence, Continuity, and Rhythym

Comments

Gueros is loosely coherent and continuous with a volatile rhythm. Regarding coherence, the narrative is not strictly imposed, but more loosely structured. Scenes can feel “disconnected and episodic” as the characters travel through the city and have a variety of experiences. Nevertheless, the tone and theme is coherent throughout. The director is likewise loose in terms of continuity, as he frequently employs jump cuts and rough transitions. Finally, the rhythm, or pace, is volatile - there are fast, energetic scenes, and slow, contemplative scenes.

This clip exemplifies how scenes can feel disconnected from one another, as is the case between the kitchen scene and the car scene. In the transition between the two, the director uses jump cuts for a rough transition. While the dialogue heavy scenes are slow, these cut scenes are fast, giving the movie a volatile pace.

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Editing Style

Montage

Comments

While the sequence of events in Güeros is generally continuous, the film’s transitions are often abrupt rather than smooth. The director frequently employs montage to compress travel time or rapidly depict the characters exploring different parts of the city. This technique contributes to the film’s loose and episodic structure, giving the narrative a sense of spontaneity rather than a tightly plotted progression.

For instance, in the attached clip the director utilizes a montage of fast cut scenes to transition from the kitchen scene to the car scene.

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Transitions

Match

Eyeline

Comments

Güeros occasionally employs eyeline matches. For instance, in the attached clip, Ana gives the crew a tour of the student protestors' headquarters. As she points to a room, the next shot shows what or whom they’re looking at.

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Expansion and Compression of Time

Elliptical Editing

Comments

While the movie utilizes a blend of elliptical editing, long takes, and compression of time, time is primarily communicated through elliptical editing. Elliptical editing skips over unimportant events. Long takes are often utilized during dialogue sequences, either while walking or in the car. Compression of time condenses longer periods, like travel across the city.

For instance, in the attached clip, the director skips over the travel from the apartment to the car outside, utilizing elliptical editing to compress time. The scene of the characters listing to the radio on the car hood is shot in a long take, immersing the viewer in the casual scene.

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Editing General Comments

Sound

Sound is an integral part in a film. It refers to everything that the audience hears including sound effects, words and music. Sound is used in films for various purposes, including: providing the information to the viewer about the location of the scene, heightening the mood, telling the audience about the characters and advancing the plot. Every person who watches a film realizes that the choice of voices, soundtrack and music present in a film affect the way that the viewer perceives a particular film. As a result, the sound is an important and integral element of the film, one that determines the way that the viewer experiences and understands a film as a visual experience.

Sound Type

Diegetic

Comments

Güeros uses a combination of sound techniques, but it primarily employs diegetic sound through dialogue and city noise to ground the film in reality. The film also occasionally uses non-diegetic sound, particularly when background music plays over montage sequences. At times, the repeated use of the same music functions as a sonic flashback, creating continuity across different moments and evoking shared memory or mood. Additionally, the film sometimes utilizes sound bridges, where audio carries over between scenes to smooth otherwise abrupt visual transitions. For instance, the following clip utilizes diegetic sound in the opening conversation, then non-diegetic sound as the musical score plays over the various jump cuts, and sound bridge as the conversation is still heard over these jump cuts.

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Narrative

Narrative analysis is an examination of the story elements, including narrative structure, character, and plot. A narrative can be considered to be the chain of events in a cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space. In order to analyze the narrative of a film, we need to first make the distinction between the plot of the film and the story of the film. This is sometimes referred to as the discourse and story of a film. Narrative may also be called the story thought story mainly refers to the events that describe the narrative.

Plot Comments

Comments

Behind the film’s faint storyline, social commentary unfolds. The movie contrasts the characters’ youthful aimlessness with the societal disparities unearthed by various interactions in the city and the student protest, which left young Mexicans feeling aimless and without a place to belong. As stated by the director, “Güeros is actually two movies in one. On one hand, it is a portrait of this particular stage in Mexico’s history. On the other…it is an exploration of Mexican youth who are not able to feel at ease in their own country.” Overall, I would describe this movie as a coming of age against the backdrop of Mexico's own growing pains.

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Story Comments

Comments

The story is the simple chain of events that occured over the course of the movie. It proceeds as follows:

13-year-old troublemaker Tomás is sent to live with his older brother "Sombra", a student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Sombra and his roommate Santos live in a rundown apartment. They aren't attending classes as the school's student body is currently on strike due to the institution's recent addition of an enrollment fee. The boys have no interest in participating in the strike. Tomás finally prompts Sombra and Santos to leave the apartment when he learns that his favorite musician, Epigmeneo Cruz, is near death at a nearby hospital. Tomás is determined to pay his respects. The remainder of the movie follows the boys on a wild goose chase through the city in search of Epigmeneo Cruz. They have various encounters along the way and are eventually joined by avid student activist Ana, Sombra's love interest.

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Narrator Type

Third Person

Comments

Gueros utilizes a form of 3rd person narration, as the director’s presence is clear throughout the film. As stated by one critic, “the main character is the director”, as his artistic frames and frequent cut scenes makes his presence incredibly apparent. It’s clear that the director is utilizing the characters to get his message across, rather than the characters actively driving the story or the message.

Narrative Structure

Chronological / Lineal

Comments

The film follows the group in real time, and events unfold chronologically.

Genre

Film genres are various forms or identifiable types, categories, classifications or groups of films. (Genre comes from the French word meaning "kind," "category," or "type"). These provide a convenient way for scriptwriters and film-makers to produce, cast and structure their narratives within a manageable, well-defined framework. Genres also offer the studios an easily 'marketable' product, and give audiences satisfying, expected and predictable choices. Genres refers to recurring, repeating and similar, familiar or instantly-recognizable patterns, styles, themes, syntax, templates, paradigms, motifs, rules or generic conventions.