11/02/2004 - There was a chilly reaction both for the Spanish film The Life Awaiting for You by the veteran Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón and for the thriller and Simenon adaptation, Red Lights, by the French director Cédric Kahn

There was very little applause for the Berlin competition screening of The Life Awaiting for You by the veteran Spanish director, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, who has already won the Jury’s prize at Berlin in 1973 with his debut film, Habla Mudida, and came away with a Silver Bear in 1977, for Black Litter. In his new film, the director tells a bitter and bloody story, especially considering the setting, in the high valleys of Pas, in Galizia, showing the tough lives of a population who make their living by raising stock. In fact, a dispute over the ownership of a calf sparks off a tragedy: the lives of Gildo and his two daughters will change forever when the widower murders his violent neighbour, Severo.

"The relationships of these people are dominated by the sayings of their forefathers, namely that a thing can be cancelled out if you don’t say anything about it", says Aragón. "It’s a microcosm made up of parents, sons and the silence of this dark and remote valley".

There was an equally cold reception for the thriller Red Lights by Cédric Kahn, the long awaited return of the acclaimed author of Roberto Succo , who has now presented this adaptation of the book of the same name by Georges Simenon.

Two main characters, well acted by by Carole Bouquet and Jean-Pierre Daroussin, are a husband and wife who are travelling towards their children’s summer camp, and who are forced to deal with an unexpected and traumatic event. But in spite of these strong performances, Kahn’s film wasn’t greeted with widespread success.
"I deliberately shot the film in an ambiguous way. I was interested in the mechanisms that make us hold our breath, that create suspense", says Kahn. "It’s a relentless story of pain and death, and it was a great challenge for me as a director".

(Translated from Italian)