2. Rey; movie review

REY
Cert 12A
90 mins
BBFC advice: Moderate grisly images

During the time of great explorers such as Magellan, Cook and Columbus it was normal to arrive on an unmapped land and lay down a claim for king or queen and country.
Centuries later and we are still seeing the fall-out of colonialism of the English, Spanish, French and Dutch.
Oh, and the Welsh. There is a part of Patagonia where the population, apparently, speak Welsh.
If Orélie-Antoine de Tounens had got his way, they probably would have been speaking French and one of his descendants would have been their monarch.
De Tounens, armed only with a flag and a constitution, arrived on the tip of South America and declared himself a king of the parts of Chile and Argentina where only native tribes lived.
That they didn't kill him was a miracle because they had been ungovernable for 300 years.
Sadly, despite documents of his 'reign' still existing with his descendants De Tounens attempt to take power was short-lived. He was arrested, tried and exiled by the Chilean authorities.
All of this is a fascinating backdrop for Niles Atallah's movie but I can't help feeling that the director wasted an opportunity because of his pursuit of abstract art.
From the outset of Rey, it is clear that this is going to be a very offbeat historical account.
De Tounens, played by Rodrigo Lisboa, is seen syphoning water up into his hands from a stream and men, dressed as bales of straw, then bow down to him.
And this is before the opening title!
The film is split into chapters surrounding his imprisonment, inquisition and banishment.
Throughout these sections the participants, for no clear reasons, are wearing papier mâché heads.
Wedged between them is archive footage, presumably of Patagonia, and then a dramatisation of De Tounens' journey in which he was accompanied by a guide (Claudio Riveros).
The film becomes more surreal as it progresses with it becoming clear that Atallah believes De Tounens had a Jesus complex.
Indeed, he says: "I am the bird that flies, the sources of names. The child of a thousand water drops, I am the star son.
Much of the latter part of the movie is seen through 35mm, 16mm and Super-8 film which Attalah recorded in 2011 and then buried in his back garden.
Its degradation is an attempt to make it appear authentic but watching a movie which is so badly damaged is as frustrating as tuning into local radio which is 60 miles away.
Rey and movies of its type are seen by its makers as works of art rather than mainstream media.
Indeed, this will only be savoured by art house audiences.
But I feel that it is a shame this story was to told straight. I felt my thirst for knowledge about De Tounens was slightly slaked but certainly not quenched.
And right at the end, Rey testifies to the centuries old persecution of the tribes which inhabit the southern tip of South America, leaving me wanting to know much much more.

Reasons to watch: it is an incredible true story
Reasons to avoid: it is told as surrealist work of art

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 6/10

Director, Niles Atallah: "Rey came into being as I sifted through the many pieces of this king’s story. I imagined a film that evoked an analogous experience in the spectator: a journey through a realm of forgotten dreams, the decaying memories and fantasies of a ghost."

The big question: Why aren't there many straight, narrated documentaries any more?

Share this post