Debut film “Pescador”, by American director Harry Domenico Rossi, gained European Premiere at the Raindance Film Festival.
The film tells the story of two siblings on different journeys in Costa Rica and yet entwined together through the meditation of life being lived.
Against a backdrop of Costa Rica’s lush jungles and beatific vistas, Pescador follows an American scientist searching for a mythical fish; her erratic and hostile brother; and a lonely fisherman, who dreams of a son. As their lives intersect, the film asks what is sacrificed in isolation and what is risked in connection.
From the outset, this is a poetic film with flashes of brilliance in both the editing and performances of Alex Wanebo as the woman and scientist. She is forthright and opinionated and yet very much alone which is just the way she likes it – she is a snob when she meets people she feels are beneath her in hostels; yet when she meets academics she speaks less and listens.
Her brother, the man, portrayed by Spencer Bang – is a hothead and when he is found fighting for his life on driftwood by a Costa Rican fisherman (Mario Chacon) he is not appreciative until the walls slowly come down.
An intriguing premise of the film and something clever for the filmmaker to persue is that neither sibling is particularly likeable – the girl tells lies (she says a different name to people she meets for the first time), steals money without shame; while the brother is a guy who uses people (as seen in flashback) and is left on a shipwreck. He does not nor require help in his opinion from the fisherman and is always seeking an escape to an acceptable nirvana. The irony being his utopia is on his doorstep, and for people navigating rainforests and inhospitable climates – the siblings cannot see the woods for the trees.
Shot beautifully by Isaac Banks, the film is a mixture of mesmerising locations and a balance of storytelling without over-reaching with themes. When producing poetic works they can become a bit long-winded, however, the splitting of narrative into two stories (two sides of a personality somewhat) helps with the flow and narrative.
At times it can be too meditative, but the performances and location do maintain the attention. Wanebo marks herself out as a future talent in the vein of Samara Weaving with her distinctive features and photogenic face.
Rossi – who recovered from a near death experience and medically induced coma in 2018 – has marked himself out as a director of talent and one to watch for his future projects. It is rare to see a work of such stillness and calm with such anxiety and anger under the surface throughout; life is about balancing those emotions and with the body of water acting as a metaphor for it. Above the surface we may look calm, but underneath our legs are kicking trying to stay afloat.
Pescador garnered great attention at Raindance and will no doubt garner a wider release in the coming months.
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