[BLEAK STREET
screens Thursday March 17th at 6:45 pm and Sunday March 20th at 8:40 pm at the
Cleveland Cinematheque.]
Review by Bob Ignizio
Classical filmmaking aesthetics make BLEAK STREET, directed by Arturo Ripstein from a screenplay by his
wife Paz Alicia Garciadiego, feel like a lost 1940’s film noir, albeit one shot
and set in Mexico. And like those classic noirs, we know almost from the outset
that things won’t be ending happily for the protagonists. Effortlessly living
up to its name, seldom has a film been populated by so many desperate fringe
dwellers destined for doom.
The glistening black and white photography by
cinematographer Alejandro Cantú only adds to the atmosphere of hopelessness and
despair, while at the same time imparting a dark beauty to the proceedings.
Stop the film at virtually any point and one would have an image suitable for
framing, but probably not one most people would want to hang on their walls.
But this is not the sort of film generally described as “painterly”, filled
with static compositions. Fluid, assured camera movements give the film a
vitality that belies its dour tone.
