QUICK’N DIRTY: LIVE FROM TALLINN
The love of a parent never withers, not even in death. As it happens, Sharunas Bartas’ latest creation deals with his remorse. The movie opens with a prologue detailing the death of his daughter Ina Marija. She passed away on a Mexican island, so father and sister Una take it upon themselves to trace some of Ina’s steps, and by doing so grow closer to each other and the young woman they lost.
Laguna is achingly beautiful as a work. In one teary exchange, Sharunas tells Una: “You know what’s good? We had her”. The duo canoe into murky water, watching plantations grow and prosper around them. They meet an elderly woman who bemoans the schooling once denied to her, a younger boy singing across from coffins, and a statue of the Virgin Mary who counsels parent and surviving child at this difficult journey in life.
This part of Mexico isn’t for the faint of hearted. Though the terrain seems barren, the father-daughter duo thrive on locating beauty at all points. A house free from doors and windows becomes a haven because it has holes, and Sharunas is free to smoke his cigarettes. Carrying photos of Ina Marija, the protagonists smile wearily at one another behind strained tears. Bringing the loss home to the viewers, Laguna utilises black-and-white footage of Ina Marija, a youth with dreams rippled by colour. She was 24 when she was killed, barely into adulthood. This self-appointed pilgrimage is done out of love, but there are times reality weighs on Sharunas. Staring at the camera, the documentarian says he regularly wishes to share the sighting of an animal with his young girl.
He decides to make life easier for Una: through comedy. Picking a cigarette into the mouth of the packet it stemmed from, Sharunas works it like a puppet. Outside, there may be alligators and rotting corpses of turtles, but in their domicile, the duo continue their life as guardian and child. In tune with their emotions, neither hides their howls from the prying camera, offering a devastating insight into their turmoil.
Beauty surrounds the mini family. Wooden huts, ukuleles and large smiles await them on every corner.Una makes a friend, who speaks to her in Spanish and plays games of hide-and-seek to keep the spirits up. The world won’t stop spinning, regardless of any loss one individual suffers. Where Ina Marija’s life has ended, Una’s must carry on. Humans do whatever it takes to keep on.
Exceedingly brave work from both people, Laguna honours Ina Marija, and by incorporating archived footage, makes her another lead in the work. This isn’t a story about one parent and a surviving child, but the continuing dialogues he has with both. Encouraged by the greenery surrounding them, Sharunas and Una realise the best way to participate in life is to converse with other humans. People speak different languages, and inhabit other corners of the planet, but the problems are universal.
Laguna closes with a dedication to Ina Marija, but incorporates her as one of the three cast members billed. Stories never end just because someone leaves this mortal coil. For as long as a person is remembered, they never truly die. Actors and artists are immortalised through their work, and this can be said for Sharunas Bartas as it is for his two daughters. One day this film will be a commemoration of family, of feelings, of moments and of love. What power it is!
Laguna premiered in the Doc@PÖFF Baltic Competition of the 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
