Argentine filmmaker Lisandro Alonso (b. 1975) combines the formal techniques of fiction and documentary cinema to create his meditative, mysteriously atmospheric films. Each of his four films to date—La Libertad (2001), Los Muertos (2004), Fantasma (2006), and Liverpool (2008)—closely follows the quotidian movements of a solitary man to signify a larger journey or inner quest. The nonprofessional actors’ seemingly prosaic activities—cutting wood, journeying home, searching for a theater—become powerful allegories when set against vast landscapes, dreamlike sequences, cinematic manipulations, and soundtrack music. Alonso’s formally rigorous, minimalist works are utterly unique in contemporary Latin American cinema. All films are from Argentina and directed by Alonso.
Organized by Sally Berger, Assistant Curator, Department of Film, with Dennis Lim, critic, editor, and independent curator; and Mary Kerr, Executive Director, The Robert Flaherty Seminars.