'Duck Season' takes flight in the U.S.
By Susannah Elliott, Entertainment Editor
May 30, 2006 | 8:45 p.m.
Alfonso Cuaron, a poster boy for Mexican filmmaking in his success with “Y Tu Mamá También” and “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” transferred his success to fellow countryman Fernando Eimbcke. Eimbcke directed and co-wrote “Duck Season,” which, despite its 2004 Mexican release, was left without a distributor until Cuaron discovered it.
“I fell in love immediately,” Cuaron said in an interview with IGN.com. “Well, not immediately because for the first 10-15 minutes, I was just so jealous about it. I was just hating these guys. I said, ‘I should have done that movie. Look at that. It’s amazing.’”
Cuaron’s Esperanto Films and Warner Independent Pictures teamed up to release Eimbcke’s debut feature film nationwide. Since its original Mexican release in 2004, “Duck Season” has won 24 awards worldwide, including 10 Ariel awards (Mexico’s Oscars).
“Duck Season” follows one Sunday in the lives of two 14-year-old boys. Flama and Moko are left without parents in Flama’s high-rise apartment with enough to make it the perfect day — Xbox, Cokes and money to order a pizza. However, their perfect day is interrupted when their neighbor, Rita, visits to borrow the oven to make a cake. Shortly after, the electric company cuts their power and ends their game of Halo. Left with few other options, the boys decide to order a pizza.
The delivery man finally arrives – 11 seconds late, according to Moko’s watch. Thus begins a battle over whether or not the pizza will be free, and, when the power returns, Ulises the delivery man joins the crowd for a deciding game of FIFA soccer. The story begins to take a more poignant turn when a painting – of ducks, hence the title – inspires a discussion. Flama’s parents won the painting in a raffle at a party, and while it is a forgettable, mediocre piece of art, it represents something deeper for Flama.
Through meandering, natural dialogue, we learn characters’ vague backgrounds, and they eventually lead each other to a little more contentment in their lives. The group doesn’t seem unnatural, despite their unlikely circumstances. Eimbcke creates a true-to-life flow with his long, wide shots and realistic conversation. While American audiences are more accustomed to quick cuts and close-ups, they will be able to appreciate the filming style that never tells you where to look.
The black and white that might otherwise be considered pretentious makes the story more pure. It supports minimal plotlines where color would be distracting. Unfortunately for English speakers, “Duck Season” is originally in Spanish.
Eimbcke shows us life as we already know it. The comedy is everyday humor, but it’s still laugh-out-loud funny. Flama, Moko, Rita and Ulises are people we may already know, and their lives aren’t extraordinary. It’s the way they interact with each other on a random day that makes us glad we had the opportunity to share it with them. The film isn’t without a plot; it’s subtle. Like “The Breakfast Club,” but without the melodrama -- and with the drugs.
“Duck Season” is sure to remain a favorite among Mexican independent films. While Eimbcke didn’t make any cinematic breakthroughs, his film is a tremendous success for a budget less than a million dollars. He is able to take his characters seriously and present them in a respectful, realistic light.
“He never makes fun at the expense of his characters. He can be very detached and ironic about the whole thing, but he is not going for the easy joke with his characters,” Cuaron said. “I think that the same approach that he took with young people, he took with audiences. He’s trusting that people are going to be as smart as he is. And also, because he’s not trying to show off how smart he is. He’s a very generous soul in that sense. He doesn’t look down to these young people. It’s a film that I’ve seen a 10-year-old enjoy as much as a 16-year-old. Both with a frozen smiling face.”