If the movie seems long, it's because it's supposed so. This isn't a blockbuster film, nor is it anything like a big-budget flick coming out of Hollywood. This is one of those films that focus on film-making as an art, not a business. The way the movie is made is only a reflection of what the movie is about: a man and his wife, isolated farmers in Paraguay's back country, waiting. Waiting for rain, waiting for a son who has gone off to war, just waiting. I think Paz Encina took a big risk with this movie; many people WILL feel disappointed. However, those people that look at films as art, and not just as money-making endeavours, will see the brilliance in every single one of the movie's 78 minutes. The message of the film is perfectly portrayed, not only by the fantastic acting and the perfect soundtrack, but also by the right-on directing of Encina.
11 Reviews
War or Peace?
Jamester10 September 2006
I saw this at the Toronto International Film Festival.
While the expected slow pacing of the story was not something I was looking forward to, this story came alive very quickly for me.
With the Paraguayan-Bolivian war as the background, we zoom in to the life of a mom-dad country outpost in Paraguay centred around a day sitting on a hammock waiting for their son to return.
The impact was strong. The waiting, the hope in their son, and the bleakness of life was intense and very real. I didn't expect such depth in what on the surface would be such a very simple story of hammock banter. But through the banter, through the movements, through the narrative voice, the story kept moving and from there emerged an important comment on war and the impact on one family.
Well done!
While the expected slow pacing of the story was not something I was looking forward to, this story came alive very quickly for me.
With the Paraguayan-Bolivian war as the background, we zoom in to the life of a mom-dad country outpost in Paraguay centred around a day sitting on a hammock waiting for their son to return.
The impact was strong. The waiting, the hope in their son, and the bleakness of life was intense and very real. I didn't expect such depth in what on the surface would be such a very simple story of hammock banter. But through the banter, through the movements, through the narrative voice, the story kept moving and from there emerged an important comment on war and the impact on one family.
Well done!
You're not exactly in the hands of a master when it comes to this sort of material, but the film offers an interesting study none-the-less.
johnnyboyz6 July 2009
Cynics, or those that didn't take to it and are just out to destroy the film, will point out a certain line of dialogue uttered by one of the very, very few characters in this piece about half way in; when they exclaim a personal ideology along the lines of "the more you wait around, the more chance there is of something happening". This 2006, one of very few Paraguayan films I have either heard of or come across, piece is entitled Paraguayan Hammock, and is indeed all about waiting around, killing the time, thinking, wondering, speculating and attempting to become more in touch with a spiritual side you might posses. The occurrence of the above quotation sort of lifts the film up a level into a realm of the self-aware, where-in the very thesis of the film's study lies.
The setting is Paraguay and it's 1935. The two predominant characters, named Ramón and Candida, spend most their time, whilst inhabiting the film's present equilibrium, in a hammock; forever waiting for the their son to return from war; waiting and wondering if it will rain so as to benefit the surrounding rural land; waiting and wondering if a nearby dog will stop barking; waiting and wondering what the menacing, nearby thunder will do. Don't get me wrong, I liked the film but only up to a certain level. Paraguyan Hammock is interested in those moments or passages in life in-between the agony and the ecstasy, such as the son going off to war and either coming home fit, healthy and alive or not at all and such as to whether there will be a heavy rainfall so their surrounding rural locale can benefit.
Ramón and Candida inhabit a space that is a hammock, something so important to the film-makers that they name their piece after said prop. This prop is bound at either end to two separate trees, signifying the only physical contact to the rest of world at any one time. The hammock doubles up as a very specific space, and it sees its two central performers suspended above the ground, perhaps indeed the world they inhabit, for a good duration of the film. Here, they talk and muse for very long periods of time about worries and concerns and the world around them; the hammock offers a space in which they can observe. The fact they take it down now and again to shift away from annoying, nearby dogs that consistently bark might be read into as an allegory that there just isn't any room for them anymore and they they feel most things are coming to an end: their lives, their rural livelihood and any contact with their son they might have through fear of loosing him in the war going on. These are indeed tough times for Ramón and Candida.
But if the film makes this point, then it makes it fairly quickly. Although the film clocks in at 78 minutes, it actually, and rather disappointingly, feels longer. The film plays like a documentary at some points, with long takes and compositions of people just inhabiting, but not engaging with, their surroundings. It only really becomes cinematic again when it breaks away for flashbacks of days gone by and interactions between Ramón and his son on their farm. During this time, the film will throw in some rather tiring shots of pieces of fruit tumbling out of sacks and in one particularly disappointing sequence, the film will have Ramón talk of the dangers of warfare and the probabilities of death prior to his leaving - this as trees are felled in the background and certainly emphasised. The symbolism between life and death and something falling out of place when it is predominantly assured everything will be fine is one of a few aspects that should have worked better than they do.
The rumbling thunder, which the the film-makers deliberately intensify later on, acts as an odd, off-screen symbolistic presence that juxtaposes both the prospect of rain and hope for the couple but could also be read into as off screen explosions and sound effects of warfare, simultaneously reminding us of their son and his situation. But again, you're only going to get as much out of this if you initially buy into Paraguyan Hammock's approach, that being of the slow burning and very observant variety and then get a kick out of its, essentially, relatively straight forward fore-warnings of destruction and hope through both on and off screen symbolism.
I have a feeling we're still to see the best of writer/director Paz Encina, someone who isn't afraid of supremely artistic approaches to subjects. His style of shooting long takes of the absolute everyday and mundane is there, but his cutting away to the skies above, plus clouds, in between lines of dialogue during these extended ten or so minute takes mask the fact he isn't using quality acting talent who can deliver long passages of neo-realistic dialogue for extended periods. It also suggests there is something deeper behind said compositions of the skies, when in reality, they're probably acting as cutaways that cover up acting talent failings. Nevertheless, Paraguyan Hammock is an ambitious piece; a film that pauses for reflection in a, more often than not, refreshing manner. If you're willing to take a step back from your fast and frenetic (some might say 'Americanised') and more popular South American offerings in Express Kidnapping and City of God, then chances are you'll enjoy this.
The setting is Paraguay and it's 1935. The two predominant characters, named Ramón and Candida, spend most their time, whilst inhabiting the film's present equilibrium, in a hammock; forever waiting for the their son to return from war; waiting and wondering if it will rain so as to benefit the surrounding rural land; waiting and wondering if a nearby dog will stop barking; waiting and wondering what the menacing, nearby thunder will do. Don't get me wrong, I liked the film but only up to a certain level. Paraguyan Hammock is interested in those moments or passages in life in-between the agony and the ecstasy, such as the son going off to war and either coming home fit, healthy and alive or not at all and such as to whether there will be a heavy rainfall so their surrounding rural locale can benefit.
Ramón and Candida inhabit a space that is a hammock, something so important to the film-makers that they name their piece after said prop. This prop is bound at either end to two separate trees, signifying the only physical contact to the rest of world at any one time. The hammock doubles up as a very specific space, and it sees its two central performers suspended above the ground, perhaps indeed the world they inhabit, for a good duration of the film. Here, they talk and muse for very long periods of time about worries and concerns and the world around them; the hammock offers a space in which they can observe. The fact they take it down now and again to shift away from annoying, nearby dogs that consistently bark might be read into as an allegory that there just isn't any room for them anymore and they they feel most things are coming to an end: their lives, their rural livelihood and any contact with their son they might have through fear of loosing him in the war going on. These are indeed tough times for Ramón and Candida.
But if the film makes this point, then it makes it fairly quickly. Although the film clocks in at 78 minutes, it actually, and rather disappointingly, feels longer. The film plays like a documentary at some points, with long takes and compositions of people just inhabiting, but not engaging with, their surroundings. It only really becomes cinematic again when it breaks away for flashbacks of days gone by and interactions between Ramón and his son on their farm. During this time, the film will throw in some rather tiring shots of pieces of fruit tumbling out of sacks and in one particularly disappointing sequence, the film will have Ramón talk of the dangers of warfare and the probabilities of death prior to his leaving - this as trees are felled in the background and certainly emphasised. The symbolism between life and death and something falling out of place when it is predominantly assured everything will be fine is one of a few aspects that should have worked better than they do.
The rumbling thunder, which the the film-makers deliberately intensify later on, acts as an odd, off-screen symbolistic presence that juxtaposes both the prospect of rain and hope for the couple but could also be read into as off screen explosions and sound effects of warfare, simultaneously reminding us of their son and his situation. But again, you're only going to get as much out of this if you initially buy into Paraguyan Hammock's approach, that being of the slow burning and very observant variety and then get a kick out of its, essentially, relatively straight forward fore-warnings of destruction and hope through both on and off screen symbolism.
I have a feeling we're still to see the best of writer/director Paz Encina, someone who isn't afraid of supremely artistic approaches to subjects. His style of shooting long takes of the absolute everyday and mundane is there, but his cutting away to the skies above, plus clouds, in between lines of dialogue during these extended ten or so minute takes mask the fact he isn't using quality acting talent who can deliver long passages of neo-realistic dialogue for extended periods. It also suggests there is something deeper behind said compositions of the skies, when in reality, they're probably acting as cutaways that cover up acting talent failings. Nevertheless, Paraguyan Hammock is an ambitious piece; a film that pauses for reflection in a, more often than not, refreshing manner. If you're willing to take a step back from your fast and frenetic (some might say 'Americanised') and more popular South American offerings in Express Kidnapping and City of God, then chances are you'll enjoy this.
Hamaca Paraguaya is a very important film for two reasons
ikatupe22 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The film begins with the couple sitting in a hammock and discussing about the barking that does not stop. Candida can not bear to hear the dog anymore, Ramón explains that in reality she is a bitch and that she needs to understand. Without agreement, the subject turns to the son and the War of the Chaco, again the pair does not understand. Ramon insists he heard birds fly and this is a sign of rain, Candida thinks her husband is hearing things. This whole sequence takes place in the first fifteen minutes of film.
After that, Ramón cuts off a bit of cane and recalls the conversation he had with his son, when he had warned that he would go to war. Initially without agreeing, Ramón accepts throughout the conversation to the point that in the end encourage the son to play his role, which is to defend his country. Cut to Candida, who remembers the same situation, but in the case she talking to her son, Máximo. He announces that he goes to the battlefield and he gets in a mixture of (in) conformed feelings.
Hamaca Paraguaya is a very important film for two reasons, the first is a sigh of life in the almost nonexistent Paraguayan cinematography, which was 28 years without producing a long. The second is its technical and aesthetic relevance to those who study film in their theory and technique or are spectators of the art film. But as I said before in the page, the idea is to give an impression closer to the common than specific.
The film is deliberately slow, because slow is understood to be very slow. The movement practically does not exist on the scene and it does not exist in the camera, which is always fixed - perhaps to faithfully portray the reality proposed there, a Paraguayan champion life of the 1930s. The dialogues are not deep but bring depth to the feelings. Here is another more interesting point on the technical side, which is actually the absence of dialogues on the scene - they are inserted in a displaced way and give the impression of being always memories.
After that, Ramón cuts off a bit of cane and recalls the conversation he had with his son, when he had warned that he would go to war. Initially without agreeing, Ramón accepts throughout the conversation to the point that in the end encourage the son to play his role, which is to defend his country. Cut to Candida, who remembers the same situation, but in the case she talking to her son, Máximo. He announces that he goes to the battlefield and he gets in a mixture of (in) conformed feelings.
Hamaca Paraguaya is a very important film for two reasons, the first is a sigh of life in the almost nonexistent Paraguayan cinematography, which was 28 years without producing a long. The second is its technical and aesthetic relevance to those who study film in their theory and technique or are spectators of the art film. But as I said before in the page, the idea is to give an impression closer to the common than specific.
The film is deliberately slow, because slow is understood to be very slow. The movement practically does not exist on the scene and it does not exist in the camera, which is always fixed - perhaps to faithfully portray the reality proposed there, a Paraguayan champion life of the 1930s. The dialogues are not deep but bring depth to the feelings. Here is another more interesting point on the technical side, which is actually the absence of dialogues on the scene - they are inserted in a displaced way and give the impression of being always memories.
Great piece of art
zenoura19 October 2006
I don't know what are thinking the people which go to cinema and expect to watch an action-package with explosions, and war, guns, etc, etc, etc; just because the film is situated historically in the middle of the war of Paraguay and Bolivia, in 1935.
If you're expecting Bruce Willis coming from the jungle of the Chaco with a MADSEN gun and spreading bullets to everybody... you're in the wrong place, so go and watch Tears of the Sun.
This is a great piece of art, and Paz Encina worked so hard to make a film which speaks for himself. Maybe somebody wouldn't like the translations of the Guarani to Spanish or English. But, let me say that in my everyday there are some words or expressions from the Guarani that couldn't be translated. It's simply impossible. The guarani is a rich language, and sometimes is really not so easy, try to explain the meaning of some phrases. The Guarani are missed for so many people in Paraguay... and today is left behind by the people who live on big cities.
The movie, really had a flat development, truth. But, what can you expect from 2 old persons, waiting for the arriving of the son? There are many people in my country which live just like this old couple. There are people which sent his son to the "capital" to grow up, learn and have the choices or opportunities that they couldn't have. This movie reflects in many aspects a reality of the poor people which work with the fields, and the agriculture. I known many people from the small cities or towns of my country, and those people are really old people, and they are still working so hard. They sent they child to big cities to have good opportunities in education and economic.
They seem have not rest. And the only thing they can do is sit down, or laid down over an hammock, drink TERERE, and speak... or just keep quiet. That's the life of these people, and they are really happy living like that... with no worries at all, and trying to keep together, and expecting for his sons, or relatives.
Yes, "Hamaca Paraguaya", is a great film, great piece of art, and for some people will be boring watch a movie with no action, or ups and downs. Maybe those people are get used with the entertaining and action films... but not with something that reflects the reality of an age, and filmed very very artistically.
Ramón del Río makes a good performance, and I might say that even a little closer to himself... I had the opportunity to meet him personally. Is a very-very-very humble man, and have a special and devoted love for the art; in this case, the acting.
Congratulations Paz Encina.
If you're expecting Bruce Willis coming from the jungle of the Chaco with a MADSEN gun and spreading bullets to everybody... you're in the wrong place, so go and watch Tears of the Sun.
This is a great piece of art, and Paz Encina worked so hard to make a film which speaks for himself. Maybe somebody wouldn't like the translations of the Guarani to Spanish or English. But, let me say that in my everyday there are some words or expressions from the Guarani that couldn't be translated. It's simply impossible. The guarani is a rich language, and sometimes is really not so easy, try to explain the meaning of some phrases. The Guarani are missed for so many people in Paraguay... and today is left behind by the people who live on big cities.
The movie, really had a flat development, truth. But, what can you expect from 2 old persons, waiting for the arriving of the son? There are many people in my country which live just like this old couple. There are people which sent his son to the "capital" to grow up, learn and have the choices or opportunities that they couldn't have. This movie reflects in many aspects a reality of the poor people which work with the fields, and the agriculture. I known many people from the small cities or towns of my country, and those people are really old people, and they are still working so hard. They sent they child to big cities to have good opportunities in education and economic.
They seem have not rest. And the only thing they can do is sit down, or laid down over an hammock, drink TERERE, and speak... or just keep quiet. That's the life of these people, and they are really happy living like that... with no worries at all, and trying to keep together, and expecting for his sons, or relatives.
Yes, "Hamaca Paraguaya", is a great film, great piece of art, and for some people will be boring watch a movie with no action, or ups and downs. Maybe those people are get used with the entertaining and action films... but not with something that reflects the reality of an age, and filmed very very artistically.
Ramón del Río makes a good performance, and I might say that even a little closer to himself... I had the opportunity to meet him personally. Is a very-very-very humble man, and have a special and devoted love for the art; in this case, the acting.
Congratulations Paz Encina.
A highly meditative, beautiful film
imaybeanorangepeel2 December 2006
I went to see 'Hamaca Paraguaya' at an early morning screening at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. Unsure of what to expect, other than a film which takes place almost exclusively around a hammock, I entered the sparsely populated theatre with tired eyes.
Within moments after the film began, I was mesmerized. The monotony of the lives of Ramón and Candida was mirrored by the progression of the film. But instead of becoming boring, the film evoked a sort of slow cadence that was very refreshing and meditative. The sounds of the rainy Paraguayan jungle provided a beautiful backdrop to the conversations between an old man and an old woman waiting for their son to return home.
As a simple, evocative film, Hamaca Paraguaya succeeds admirably. If you go see this, and I really hope many people do: please go in without preconceived notions of it being boring. Instead, let it envelope your emotions and thoughts. By the end, I wished I could sit back in a Paraguayan hammock, and just live.
Within moments after the film began, I was mesmerized. The monotony of the lives of Ramón and Candida was mirrored by the progression of the film. But instead of becoming boring, the film evoked a sort of slow cadence that was very refreshing and meditative. The sounds of the rainy Paraguayan jungle provided a beautiful backdrop to the conversations between an old man and an old woman waiting for their son to return home.
As a simple, evocative film, Hamaca Paraguaya succeeds admirably. If you go see this, and I really hope many people do: please go in without preconceived notions of it being boring. Instead, let it envelope your emotions and thoughts. By the end, I wished I could sit back in a Paraguayan hammock, and just live.
Artistic Pretension
liehtzu2 November 2006
Pusan Film Festival Reviews 9: Hamaca Paraguaya (Paz Encina)
Here is a film that's created a polarizing reaction at film festivals, where some are inclined to take its painfully dull miserablism as brilliance. It's difficult for me to say that a film of serious intent is completely without merit, but "Hamaca Paraguaya" comes close. I can only guess that the film is an attempt to somehow capture the feeling of growing old and slowly dying, as that's exactly how I felt while sitting through it. First time director Paz Encina pulls off the dubious feat of making festival entrants Tsai Ming-liang, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Aki Kaurismaki look like directors of epic action pictures.
I'm quickly becoming hostile to the static long-shot held for an interminable length of time. Within the span of the film's nearly 10-minute opening shot (the first of less than thirty), with a pair of old people sitting on a hammock in a forest clearing mumbling repetitively in voice-over, the realization dawned that this 75-minute film was going to be a long haul. There are moments where the film very, very briefly acts like it might do something of interest, but those hopes are quickly dashed as the camera returns to the clearing, the hammock, and the mumbling old folks.
Why would a young woman, making the first film in her impoverished country since the 1970s, make one without a pulse? Anything of relevance that the film has to say about war, sorrow, and aging, loses all impact due to its deliberately alienating design. New art from obscure places should be encouraged, but art needs much more than what was on display in this film.
Here is a film that's created a polarizing reaction at film festivals, where some are inclined to take its painfully dull miserablism as brilliance. It's difficult for me to say that a film of serious intent is completely without merit, but "Hamaca Paraguaya" comes close. I can only guess that the film is an attempt to somehow capture the feeling of growing old and slowly dying, as that's exactly how I felt while sitting through it. First time director Paz Encina pulls off the dubious feat of making festival entrants Tsai Ming-liang, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Aki Kaurismaki look like directors of epic action pictures.
I'm quickly becoming hostile to the static long-shot held for an interminable length of time. Within the span of the film's nearly 10-minute opening shot (the first of less than thirty), with a pair of old people sitting on a hammock in a forest clearing mumbling repetitively in voice-over, the realization dawned that this 75-minute film was going to be a long haul. There are moments where the film very, very briefly acts like it might do something of interest, but those hopes are quickly dashed as the camera returns to the clearing, the hammock, and the mumbling old folks.
Why would a young woman, making the first film in her impoverished country since the 1970s, make one without a pulse? Anything of relevance that the film has to say about war, sorrow, and aging, loses all impact due to its deliberately alienating design. New art from obscure places should be encouraged, but art needs much more than what was on display in this film.
I barely survived
fionalansdown18 June 2007
Wow! I just got back from seeing this film at the Sydney Film Festival, and thought I'd check out what people thought - when I saw the previous rave I had to register on IMDb just to be able to say NO WAY! I was so excited about this film, having spent some time living in Paraguay, but have to say it was the most boring film I have ever seen. The long distance camera shot meant you could hardly ever see the actors faces, which didn't much matter because they weren't actually speaking or showing any expression anyway. The voice overs sounded so unemotional, which given that they were mainly talking about the death of their son I found a little odd.
I can't believe anyone paid anyone money to make this movie. There are so many rich and fascinating stories to be told in Paraguay, but this movie gave me nothing!!
I can't believe anyone paid anyone money to make this movie. There are so many rich and fascinating stories to be told in Paraguay, but this movie gave me nothing!!
Brilliantly Simple and Simply Brilliant!
prepost12 September 2006
I just came back from my fifth TIFF film of 2006 - Hamaca Paraguaya. The film is less than 80 minutes long, and contains maybe a total of about 10 scenes, with no cuts, just long continuous still shots, observing two characters from a distance that made it all so intimate. Such a classic story (war and death) told in a most unexpected angle and a daring way. In my opinion, it's minimalist delivery is parallel to Lars Von Tier's Dogville - "less is more". I have to say it is one of my best TIFF experiences - one-of-a-kind low-budget international films deserves to be promoted.
I thought the director really put herself up for a real challenge and managed to far exceed it - bravo! Both my friend and I loved it. Amazing. I was very happy that I saw it on the big screen, where this film is meant to be seen.
I thought the director really put herself up for a real challenge and managed to far exceed it - bravo! Both my friend and I loved it. Amazing. I was very happy that I saw it on the big screen, where this film is meant to be seen.
Oops Flop
omarglobal29 September 2006
Thursday Sept. 28, 2006. When the movie starts I was almost jumped from my seat because surely I was the only person in Vancity Theatre that speak the same language of the protagonists. But, as the movie goes on, my feeling went down. Finally, me and my friend have to get out. Then, the lady from the front desk said: "Ooh, what is going on here. You're the second person that went out saying how boring is the movie". My respect for the try of the director, but this movie is awfully long in a short 78 minutes. I born and grow in Paraguay, I thought would be special for me to go and see a movie made it in the country where I coming from. But that was really flop. Recommendation: bring the pillow because 78 minutes could be perfectly 8 hours long. Then my friend ask her money back at the counter. Too late...
Minimalist movie
hof-410 October 2012
Most of the movie consists of the dialogues of an old Paraguayan Indian couple, Ramón and Cándida. These (uncannily true to life) dialogues are in Guaraní (the copy I saw had Spanish subtitles). They face the end of their hard lives and by tacit accord they have suppressed or modified episodes that are too terrible to contemplate or remember. For most of the movie we see and hear them speaking sitting in a hammock in a jungle clearing; they are small figures in a long shot (always the same except for ambient light) and their faces are barely visible. The other characters in the movies are only heard, not seen; in a shot we see Ramón sitting and we hear Cándida speaking with somebody (both off-screen). In another shot Cándida is sitting doing some chores and we hear a voice-over of herself and a postman corresponding to a recent episode in her life. The camera settings are static, and they are very few scene changes.
It is very seldom that we watch a completely original movie. This is one. Its minimalism somewhat reminds you of that of Argentine director Lisandro Alonso (he is thanked in the credits) but this movie is quite different from Alonso's work. It succeeds brilliantly; in spite of is slowness it grabs your attention from the beginning and leads you to an intensely moving ending.
Unfortunately the movie is not yet available in a Region 1 DVD. You mat catch it in festivals or in You Tube. It is a must-see, a movie that defies successfully every cinema convention, a work that invents its own language.
This is director Paz Encina second credit (the first is a short). It is deplorable that she has not made any movie since Paraguayan Hammock; we hope to see more of her work in the near future.
It is very seldom that we watch a completely original movie. This is one. Its minimalism somewhat reminds you of that of Argentine director Lisandro Alonso (he is thanked in the credits) but this movie is quite different from Alonso's work. It succeeds brilliantly; in spite of is slowness it grabs your attention from the beginning and leads you to an intensely moving ending.
Unfortunately the movie is not yet available in a Region 1 DVD. You mat catch it in festivals or in You Tube. It is a must-see, a movie that defies successfully every cinema convention, a work that invents its own language.
This is director Paz Encina second credit (the first is a short). It is deplorable that she has not made any movie since Paraguayan Hammock; we hope to see more of her work in the near future.
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