Luisa – 25 and addicted to ‘chiva’ (heroin) – retires to a hotel by the sea near Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico. During her stay – for more than a week – she meets the old, mysterious, heavy-duty cannabis user Salomon, in whom she thinks she recognises a fellow soul. A bond develops between the two of them.
Artificial Paradises, named after an anthology by the French poet Baudelaire from 1860, is a melodrama imbued with drugs and drink. Not much is explained: dialogues are scarce (although there is a bit of singing). The young Mexican director Yulene Olaizola, who had previously made short films and documentaries, tells her story with very atmospheric images. The photography is beautiful, although the landscape is not the Veracruz from holiday folders. The film was completed with a contribution from the Hubert Bals Fund.
Film details
- Country of production
- Mexico
- Year
- 2011
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2011
- Length
- 90'
- Medium/Format
- HDcam
