Filmmaker Sebastián Cordero turns his lens from his native Ecuador to the plight of Latin Americans in Spain. His third and latest film, Rabia, captures the grim reality of the Latin American immigrant experience. Cordero's social thriller is set mostly in a dilapidated mansion in Spain's Basque Country, lending it a wonderful Hitchcockian flavour, and fuses genre elements with compelling drama.
José María (Gustavo Sánchez Parra) and Rosa (Martina García) are South American immigrants working hard to make a living in Spain. He works as a builder while she is a housekeeper for a wealthy family. They have only been together a few weeks when the volatile José María has an argument with the foreman at his job and accidentally kills him. Not knowing where to go, he decides to hide in the attic of the house where Rosa works, sharing his space with the rats. It's almost painful to watch as José María tries to keep his presence unknown from both Rosa and the elderly couple for whom she works. Stealing food and concealing all traces of his presence – including finding creative ways to dispose of his own waste – all become part of his daily routine.
Cordero keeps the tension high throughout the film. Rosa is not always treated kindly by the Torres family, and we know that José María witnesses everything, becoming a voyeur while wishing he could act as her protector. The film quickly establishes that he has a short fuse, and the possibility of his making his presence known looms throughout the action. The camera shows his perspective – shadows, snippets of conversations, partial views of situations and people – as he begins to hunger for more information about his beloved. Thanks to the two phone lines in the house, he does manage to establish contact, and their love continues to flourish.
Rabia is an incisive commentary on the frustration of Latin Americans living in Spain. Victims of racism and paternalism, they must endure humiliation in order to keep their jobs, send money home and attain a better future. Often robbed of dignity, many are forced to live like José María – hidden, the unwanted other in Spanish daily life.
Diana Sanchez
Sebastián Cordero was born in Quito, Ecuador, and studied film at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He has directed the films
Rodents (99),
Chronicles (04) and
Rabia (09), all of which screened at the Festival.