Ariel

Ariel is a play-within-a-play on film, about an Argentine actress who sets ashore a strange and enchanting island where its inhabitants have transcended into Shakespearian characters. Lois Patiño adorns his latest feature with sparkling waterscapes and enchanting terrains that are seemingly possessed by otherworldly energies.

Lois Patiño presents an immersive reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest set in the tranquil Azores islands. Ariel blurs the line between reality and fantasy, forcing the passage of time to remain ambiguous. The opening close-up of a glittery purple ocean creates a sense of mystery, that lures the audience into a spectral territory where the rhythm of life takes on a poetic twist.

Following a bizarre ferry trip where all its travellers fall under a sleep spell, an Argentine actress, Augustina, arrives ashore an island where its inhabitants are in perpetual Shakespearian character. She is guided by the mermaid-haired Ariel, The Tempest’s air spirit, who is in turn is motivated by Augustina to question her purpose, interrogating her feelings on an existential level. What initially presents itself as a thespian’s paradise hits levels of frustration as Augustina’s attempt at any regular conversation is diverged by dramatic wordplay. Patiño challenges the meaning of magical realism through the inquisitive perspectives of Augustina and Ariel, as they deconstruct the space between words and performance.

– Olivia Hărşan

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