Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Undertow is a gay drama about Miguel (Cristian Mercado), a fisherman living in a small Peruvian village. His wife, Mariela (Tatiana Astengo), is pregnant with their child and unaware that Miguel is seeing Santiago (Manolo Cardona), who is openly gay and shunned by the locals because of it.
Although Miguel and Santiago are very much in love, Miguel refuses to admit that he’s gay. One day they argue on the beach about having to keep their relationship a secret, and after Miguel leaves, Santiago goes into the ocean and drowns. He returns to Miguel as a ghost, asking him to bury him at sea so he can move on.
Secretly grieving the loss of his lover, Miguel must find his body and perform the burial so that Santiago can pass to the spirit world. The only problem is, Miguel doesn’t want him to leave.
Some Thoughts:
Undertow is a romantic film that brings up some difficult emotions because the main character is cheating on his wife. Due to societal norms, Miguel refuses to acknowledge his love for Santiago or admit that he’s gay or bisexual. The film also makes it clear that Miguel does love both his wife and Santiago. And since the story isn’t about Miguel’s sexual identity, it remains a bit of a mystery.
The acting, production values, and cinematography are wonderful. Mercado and Cardona work well together and have what it takes to make their situation believable. Because the film takes place in a remote community with a culture that’s not accepting of LGBT people, Miguel’s situation is plausible.
Astengo shines as Miguel’s wife, who doesn’t know that her husband is in love with another man. And since the film opens with the death of one of Miguel’s relatives, she’s unaware that her husband is grieving over his lover and not his relative. The scene is heartbreaking on several levels.
Undertow naturally introduces the cultural views of death and the afterlife, and how Santiago is an outcast. Because of that, it’s easy to follow the characters motivations. It also doesn’t point fingers or cast judgment on any of the characters. These are people stuck in an awful situation because of one man’s inability to accept his true nature.
The Final Verdict:
Undertow is a beautiful film about love, loss, and acceptance.
