by Dennis Harvey
This being 1968, Mexico is full of expatriate hippies from the north. One such type, the rakish painter Terence (Thom Vernon, looking rather like Neil Young in that era), approaches Luna as a client in need of "cure," but soon desires her romantic attentions, too. At first she fends off this "tempter," then relents. As they set up housekeeping, the shared idyll is constantly interrupted by Terence's sneaking back to hang out with townie pals -- something he keeps Luna well segregated from.
Pic's flavorful, low-key tenor keeps this increasingly occult tale from entering full-on horror terrain, though an episode in which Luna confronts her inner "demon-jaguar" is rather silly, and the cliffhanger climax, involving Luna and Terence's toddlerage son, could be better staged.
Story development is choppy at times. While the conflict between Luna's strong, uncomplicated morality and the irresponsibility of Terence's countercultural set provides an offbeat, intriguing hook, latter types could be sketched more fully. Vernon has a sort of junior-Jack Nicholson edge that suggests both charm and loutishness; but his character remains more ambiguous than necessary. Serbulo effectively swings from innocence to witchy vengefulness, then back again.
Without excess prettiness, pic has a lush look whose lighting and lensing schemes grow more colorful (almost, aptly, psychedelic) as narrative gets more baroque. A good musical score is another plus.
Camera (color), Alex Phillips Jr.; additional camera, Guillermo Rosas; editors, Dermot McNeillage, Sonya Polonsky; music, Willie & Lobo; production design, Genevieve Desgagnes, Daniel Sirdey; costumes, Adolfo Ramirez; sound, Fernando Camara, Jorge Palomino; casting, Claudia Becker, Jane Heitz. Reviewed at Mill Valley Film Festival, Oct. 7, 1996. Running time: 92 MIN.
With: Mayra Serbulo (Luna), Thom Vernon (Terence), Greg Sporleder (Willie), Zaide Gutierrez (Luz), Benjamin Gonzalez (Rudio).
