Heaven takes many forms across the spectrum of religions, but for Bolivian child Santa, it represents a region she and her mother can escape from a household scarred by abuse. Having ingested a yellow fish, the eight-year-old feels powerful enough to undergo a journey across land in the hope of uncovering this utopia. Driven by faith and love, the infant encounters quirky characters such as members of the police and priesthood, aiding her on this personal crusade.
Driven by imagery, Cielo is a stylised, pictorial feature that recalls road movies such as Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984). The focus is on the people this person encounters, which includes a wrestling group full of indigenous fighters.The shameful memories of colonialism surrounds the subjects, and Santa is no doubt influenced by European ideals and prayers. Setting out across the Bolivian Altiplano, the girl discovers the vastness of the geography, putting her human foibles and errors into context. There, in the middle of this vast wilderness, stems a great focus on geography, a terrain populated by barren wasteland. Only the most wilful can get through this territory.
It would be churlish to describe this picture as a fairy tale, but it certainly resonates on an upbeat, quasi-magic realistic level. Clearly these people are guided by some higher power, but the definition of this God shifts from person to person. No doubt influenced by the fish she has swallowed, Santa senses a power guiding her forwards and onwards. Perhaps there is a greater haven at the other side of this mountainous place.
Director Alberto Sciamma places much of the heavy lifting on first-time performer Fernanda Gutiérrez Aranda, who truly delivers as Santa and then some. She’s magnetic, gazing through the territory with a lustre that is comparable to a hunter. Everyone needs a purpose in life, and Santa has come across hers. The goals, admittedly lofty, stem from genuine concern for a parent undervalued in their domicile. Whether the voyage is completed is almost secondary to the ambition, brimming with love and a determination to locate a better reality.
The more Santa embraces nature, the closer she connects to it. In one almost jaw-dropping shot, the child sits in front of a giant lake dotted by mountains. Clearly, this protagonist feels a connection to the earth, sea and sky, returning to a pre-Christian mindset that humans are an extension of the world. In this single take, Sciamma paints a world in which the entirety of the place feeds into one lingering situation; a congregation of mammal and natural in one place.
Which is not to take away from the supporting actors. In one humourous moment, a priest is asked why he gave a “small girl a vehicle.” He shrugs, but senses she will drive it “badly”. It’s all in the tapestry of a greater force. Cielo is guided by spirituals, and although occasionally didactic in themes, delivers the central treatise in a style that could be construed as holistic. Even humanistic at times, since the central message is that humans dictate their own stories.
But the story belongs to Santa, and based on this performance, Fernanda Gutiérrez Aranda has a great deal to offer in future roles. Despite the intensity of the plot, Santa always feels like an authentic kid; giggling and smiling inanely at everyday objects adults take for granted. Through this journey to heaven, the central heroine uncovers the beauty of everyday living, from the little nothings to the ecstasy of driving vehicles. An unconventional voyage for one so young, but demonstrably key to the growth of the person in charge of the narrative.
Cielo showed at London SXSW.
