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Goes Nowhere Fast

If you've been searching for nowhere, Betzabé Garcia's "Kings of Nowhere" has found it for you. Why one might look for nowhere is a mystery. That Garcia found it proves that it wasn't really worth looking for anyway. Or maybe the wrong person found it. Anyway, I'm not a big fan of the result.

"Nowhere" is San Marcos, a small Mexican village that has been flooded and is now mostly underwater. Inexplicably, three families continue to live in the abandoned village, despite the encroaching threat of violence that we never actually see. It makes you wonder whether they are telling the truth, but they have nothing to gain with this lie, so presumably it's true.

The families that remain relate stories to Garcia about how life is there and how it used to be. The mystery as to why they stay remains nebulous. Even as they recount their lives, they tell stories of their relatives who have fled and who now wonder why these three families refuse to leave to a more rewarding life. Those that remain mostly laugh at themselves for staying. They can give no good reasons for staying. Inertia and laziness are the most logical rationales. It's pretty sad stuff.

The sole redeeming feature of "Kings of Nowhere" is its haunting appearance. It would make for a great background to a horror film or psychological thriller. Garcia spends most of her time watching the scenery in total silence, both during daylight and night. The redeeming feature of the haunting appearance is eventually overshadowed by overuse of the technique, making it excruciatingly slow. It ends up going nowhere.