Until now, Spaniard Ulises Porra had co-directed two features with Argentinian filmmaker Silvina Schnicer (Tigre and Carajita, for which they received a Special Mention in San Sebastián’s New Directors section). Now, with his new film, the Catalonian director has had to face not only the geographical, natural and climatic complications of the Dominican Republic jungle, where it was shot almost in its entirety, but also the challenge of taking the helm on his own. The bracing result is Under the Same Sun [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], which had its world premiere in Toronto’s Centrepiece section, bagged three awards at Biarritz and is now competing in the Official Selection of the 22nd Seville European Film Festival.

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Its title underscores the idea that we are all illuminated by the same star. This crushing reality democratises us and makes us equals anywhere in the world, as it pays no heed to social status, wallets or periods of history; its rays have lit this planet since time immemorial. Thus, although the action takes place in the colonial era, its characters could just as easily be sitting next to us in a cinema, living through this immersive epic thanks to some spectacular sound and cinematography work.

Porra, also the screenwriter and editor, relates how, in 1819, a sensitive Spanish heir (played by David Castillo, famous in Spain for his turn in the sitcom Aída), a forthright Chinese weaver (Valentina Shen Wu, in her first screen appearance) and a short-sighted Haitian deserter (Jean Jean) struggle to find their place at the tense cultural crossroads of the colonial Caribbean, as they embark on the ambitious venture of setting up a silk factory on the island of Hispaniola.

Bearing reasonable similarities, albeit on a humbler scale, to titles by Werner Herzog (Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo), Ciro Guerra (Embrace of the Serpent) and Carlos Saura (El Dorado), Under the Same Sun not only portrays that convulsive time from an intimate standpoint, but above all reflects the initial confrontation and subsequent necessary coexistence of three human beings who, by joining forces, seek to survive the adversities of their environment, shed their baggage, open their hearts and lean on one another. In doing so, they build something akin to an atypical family that helps them move forwards together, not only towards their business goals, but also towards the objective of finding themselves.

Empathising with these three antiheroes thus becomes an indisputably effective weapon wielded by Ulises Porra in this movie, since it is easy to identify with the emotional shortcomings, imposed obligations and secret miseries of characters from different continents, yet harbouring the same restlessness, dislocation and sense of abandonment that many of us suffer today.

Under the Same Sun is a co-production between the Dominican Republic and Spain through Wooden Boat Productions, Alta Isla Films and Fasten Films. Its sales are handled by Brazil-based sales agent Habanero Film Sales.