Rent Liverpool (2008)

One to ponder - Liverpool review by EC

Possibly not the most thrilling film ever, but certainly intriguing. Clearly the director - name escapes me - is no fan of conventional narrative. We are presented with the bare bones of one man's return visit home, and then encouraged to fill in the gaps whatever way suits us. Surprisingly, it lingers on in the mind, no doubt as a result of the brain's determination to make sense of it all.

Understated drama - Liverpool review by PR

Perhaps slow and not very dramatic (unless you read between the lines, the background story is dramatic enough!) but an interesting film all the same. Find out how the other half lives; just don't expect clear explanations, melodramatic catharsis or far-fetched scenarios, never mind car cashes. This film leaves you in a philosophical frame of mind, subtly so.

A Quiet Masterpiece - Liverpool review by TE

The director of 'Liverpool', Lisandro Alonso, is best known for the excellent 'Jauja', so it is a pleasure to be able to see one of his earlier works.

'Liverpool' is part of Alonso's "Lonely Man" trilogy and is set in the southernmost area of Latin America, the remote township of Ushuaia in Argentina. The central character is Farrel, a sailor who goes on a short journey back to his home village, which he had left under a cloud some twenty years ealier.

No professional actors are used, and Farrel is played by a resident of Ushuaia, a snow plough driver called Juan Fernandez.

The backstory remains mysterious, although there are some telling hints embedded in the imagery on screen. In fact, it is all about the detail in the images before us as there is hardly any dialogue at all.

Alonso succeeds in immersing us in this remote, quiet world. Just as the viewer begins to wonder why the film is called "Liverpool", all is revealed in a final moment of poignant symbolism.