Ulises (Pepe Soriano) is heading towards the end of his life and he lives in an apartment with his recluse wife Dalia (Marilú Marini). One evening, Ulises finds himself reflecting on his life and the decisions he’s made, and has his peace disturbed when Elena (Desirée Salgueiro), the woman from upstairs, starts hammering on his door demanding to be let in. Frightened, Ulises and Dalia turn to each other but their lives together bring up old arguments and resentment as the night takes many a strange turn.
‘Nocturna’ is a film of two parts from film-maker Gonzalo Calzada. It’s probably best to point out that although there is a ‘Side A’ and a ‘Side B’, the two are more companion films than anything else. I’ll start my review talking about ‘Nocturna: Side A – The Great Old Man’s Night’, which is the stronger of the two films. Focusing primarily on Ulises and his wife Dalia, the film is a claustrophobic look at the treatment of older people by society and their own family.
Through flashbacks we see the life that Ulises and Dalia built together and through their conversations we learn that they have difficult relationships with their children. Ulises longs to be reunited with the daughter that was cut off from the family but Dalia has no interest, expressing disappointment and disgust at the way their child turned out. It’s one of the first hints of the fractious relationship that bubbles under the surface between the long-married couple.
Once Elena enters the frame, the film turns away from being a family drama and into a Lynchian like nightmare. The events unfold over the course of one evening and through the perspective of Ulises, we begin to enter his confused and troubled world. At times Calzada purposely leaves you wondering what’s reality and what isn’t, and that adds to the disturbing feeling that grows as the film progresses. Calzada also presses all of your emotional buttons as you grow to love Ulises quickly, feeling desperately sad for the way his life has turned out.
Unfortunately ‘Nocturna: Side B – Where Elephants Go To Die’ is a steep dive in the opposite direction to ‘Side A’. Whereas ‘Side A’ takes elements of David Lynch and uses them to its strength, ‘Side B’ comes off as pointless and self-indulgent. Told in a succinct 67 minutes with an overly stylised look, the film offers a different perspective of the same story told in ‘Side A’ but it’s told in an unintelligible and non-linear way, that feels more like Lynch’s ‘Eraserhead’ than the far superior ‘Mulholland Drive’ that ‘Side A’ evokes. For me, it adds nothing to ‘Side A’ and is an exercise in style over substance, which is a real shame. I’d hoped for something deeply emotionally connecting like ‘Side A’ but instead ‘Side B’ left me cold and for most of its runtime uninterested.
What is consistent throughout both films though is the performance of Pepe Soriano who is exceptional as Ulises. You care about him and you want him to be safe, and on many occasions in ‘Side A’ he pulls at your heartstrings and refuses to let them go. His performance is truly magnificent and he’s without a doubt the best thing about these films. Soriano’s performance is helped by a truly gorgeous piano score that runs throughout and helps hit all the right emotional notes.
‘Nocturna’ is most definitely a film of two halves and I recommend you only bother with ‘Side A’. It feels very pertinent at a time when the care of older people is rarely out of the news and the film delivers the kind of story we don’t see all that often. ‘Side B’ is a huge disappointment and unless you’re a particular fan of experimental film, you’re probably going to feel similar to me.
Cast: Pepe Soriano, Desirée Salgueiro, Marilú Marini, Lautaro Delgado Director: Gonzalo Calzada Writer: Gonzalo Calzada Certificate: Unrated Duration: 107 mins (Side A), 67 mins (Side B) Released by: Breaking Glass Pictures Release date: 18th January 2022
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