Magallanes (Damián Alcázar) is a former army soldier and right-hand man of a well-known retired colonel (Federico Luppi). They served together in the Peruvian military during the conflict with the Shining Path in Ayacucho, and now he’s his occasional driver on the streets of Lima.
One afternoon, he picks up Celina (Magaly Solier), a humble young woman who now runs a precarious beauty salon on the outskirts of the city. Unexpectedly, she brings about stories from a dark past: she was imprisoned and raped for more than a year by the colonel when she was a teenager. Like the colonel, Magallanes met her back then, but Celina doesn’t recognize him anymore.
Knowing what would happen if the information about the colonel reaches the media, he pulls out old photographic evidence and decides to blackmail the colonel’s well-off son (Christian Meier). Both Celina and Magallanes struggle to make ends meet so they could use the money. The blackmail operation sounds good, but when set in motion things didn’t go as planned.
If there’s one undeniable asset in Magallanes, the debut feature of Peruvian actor-turned-filmmaker Salvador del Solar, that’s the performance of Magaly Solier, whom you probably remember from the Oscar-nominated La teta asustada (The Milk of Sorrow). She quietly downplays most of her scenes, yet her intensity and expressiveness always leave a strong impression. She’s a sorrowful, anguish-ridden woman who shows an entirely different facet once she’s confronted with her painful past. And Solier conveys this transition with assurance and authenticity. Toward the end, an angry verbal outburst in Quechua feels theatrical and over the top, but Solier’s command of the scene makes it believable.
Despite its too literal manner, Magallanes works somewhat efficiently as a mirror for the abuses committed by the armed forces in their fight against terrorism. It examines one particular case and yet symbolically addresses them all. It can also be a useful tool to keep the memory alive. As a thriller, it’s well-paced and has some suspense.
On the minus side, it’s a highly predictable story with its ideological viewpoint often spelled out for viewers. In addition, most characters have almost no layers, except for some ambiguity you can find in Magallanes’ behaviour and in Celina’s silence. And not for its own good, it’s didactic and at times redundant.
Production notes
Magallanes (Argentina-Peru-Colombia-Spain, 2015). Written and directed by Salvador Del Solar. With Damián Alcázar, Magaly Solier, Federico Luppi, Bruno Odar. Cinematography: Diego Jiménez. Editing: Eric Williams. Running time: 98 minutes.
@pablsuarez
