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Heading South
Directed by: Laurent Cantet
Starring: Charlotte Rampling
Genre:
Foreign
Run Time: 108
min.
Release Date:
July 2006
On The Web:
Unofficial Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Taking us places we’ve
never been before is one of the excellent ways cinema tells artistic
stories. HEADING SOUTH deserves much credit for this aspect.
Rarely (if ever) do we see the darker side of female sexuality, and this
is explored in minute detail in the film. But the message doesn’t stop
there. We also see the up- and ultimate downside of Western culture on a
society struggling with its own identity; in this case, Haiti.
Haiti is the poorest nation in this hemisphere, not to mention riddled
with an AIDS epidemic and a militaristic government. This comes into
stark contrast as we watch Brenda (Karen Young) exit a plane in Port au
Prince and walk between the desperate homeless and the gun-toting
military. She is quickly whisked away from this ugliness and into an
idyllic beach resort by its owner, Frank (Guiteau Nestant). Here she
meets up with two other “civilized” women vacationers, Ellen (Charlotte
Rampling) and Sue (Louise Portal, who has only the slightest role in the
flick). They strike up an interesting if antagonistic relationship,
especially whenever they’re around the lithe and beautiful Legba (Menothy
Cesar), a male prostitute of sorts who “services” the ladies of the
resort. Yet much more is going on (and has gone on).
Brenda (a white woman from the States) first met Legba years before and
experienced her first orgasm with him ...when she was 45; and he was
only fifteen. Because we’re in Haiti, though, pedofilia doesn’t apply.
The laws tend to be lax in that aspect. Brenda explains her first sexual
encounter with Legba in brutally interesting terms (using words such as
“threw myself” and “animal”). We also witness Ellen’s attraction to
Legba, which also goes deep (no pun intended). Brenda is 55 years old
and knows she’s on the downside of her sexual identity with men her own
age, so seeks out a distant yet physically fulfilling relationship with
Legba, too. Trouble is, though, is that both Ellen and Brenda find
themselves more than just physically attracted to Legba. Brenda has no
qualms about her feelings, and all but plants herself in his lap
whenever she can. But Ellen tries to be more aloof, feigning disinterest
in anything beyond physical desire (aka lying to herself). Brenda can
see that Ellen wants Legba just as badly as she, and so bitter sparks
fly amongst them.
But in the midst of these two battling and somewhat selfish women is
Legba himself. Born into poverty, he finds himself trapped between the
old Haiti and the possibility of a new life with one of the women from
the resort (note: Legba is black, in case you didn’t realize that). But
relationship ties with his mother and an old flame flicker in his mind,
holding him back, and threatening his very existence at important
crossroads in the story. He’s also more outspoken than most of his other
male counterparts at the resort, and tells the women exactly what he
thinks (“You look old like that”). This endears him even more to the
summer visitors.
Life in Haiti is often vicious and fleeting, and this is brought home to
the viewer when we watch Legba being chased through Port au Prince by a
gun-wielding madman after someone sees him escorting a white woman
around the city (Brenda). Nothing good can come from a relationship with
these infrequent guests unless he can get off the island. But can he? Is
he willing to let go of his homeland and his family in order to just
survive in a distant world?
Director Laurent Cantet gives us a very good character study while
enveloping it in the political strife surrounding Haiti. But the film’s
pacing is exceptionally slow and male viewers may very well be turned
off by the subject matter. Although female pedofilia does exist, it
isn’t nearly as rampant as the male version. And men may have a better
sense of the separation between sex and love (this is a broad
distinction, though, and may only hold true in a Mars Versus Venus
sense).
Still, the story is interesting enough thanks to some great acting on
the part of old-time sex symbol Charlotte Rampling (FAREWLL, MY LOVELY,
1975), and the first-time role of Menothy Cesar as the unforgettable
Legba.
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Image from Heading South
DVD cost: $21.23
Purchase:
Barnes and Noble.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
Part of the film was to be
shot in Haiti but only one week's filming took place because political
events prevented the crew from staying longer. The rest of the film was
shot in the Dominican Republic, in neighboring Santo Domingo.
Movie Quote: "I
always said when I was old I'd pay young men to love me."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Heading South
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