Written and directed by Alberto Sciamma, an 8-year-old girl with special powers sets off on a journey to take her mother to paradise, fulfilling what she had promised her: to kill her first and then revive her, bringing her life back. To do this, she has to carry here body across the desert to heaven, a place she thought was so real as any other. Starring: Fernanda Gutiérrez Aranda, Cristian Mercado, Juan Carlos Aduviri, Fernando Arze Echalar, Luis Bredow, Mariela Salaverry, Fer Monserrat and Carla Arana.
It’s fair to say that Cielo opens with a bold blow, it sets the tone for an unusual, slightly macabre adventure and that’s exactly what Alberto Sciamma gives us. There’s a fascinating contrast at work, matching the dark thematic nature of the film with a vivacious, energetic visual. It brings a mystical quality, one that questions the lines of reality while never feeling as though it’s stepping outside of it. It’s perhaps something you could relate to how filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro explore heavier themes through such young characters, using a lot of imagination and creativity. Sciamma builds a childlike innocence, a huge sense of curiosity and an inherent sadness within his writing. It’s an inherently original blend and has a great unpredictability to it.
Each of those elements are reflected in the atmosphere Sciamma builds with his direction. Keeping a high energy at all times, it doesn’t settle but it’s not overwhelming or loud because the energy is being channelled in an oddly wholesome, slightly twisted manner. There’s a vastness to the air of Cielo, it holds the feel of being a big story surrounding such a young girl. Especially in its movement, both in a directorial sense and how far Santa (Fernanda Gutiérrez Aranda) travels and the variety of the places she visits. Sciamma does well to never lose touch with Santa, the tone is always connected to her youth, exuberance, and relentlessness.
Casting Fernanda Gutiérrez Aranda was genius because she is perfection as Santa. She’s such an extraordinary character and Aranda fills her with charming, hopeful energy. She’s undeniably the heart of Cielo, it’s her adventure and everyone else visits within it. That’s not to say she’s the only talent here, there’s a fantastic ensemble behind her, particularly Fernando Arze Echalar and all of the wonderful women of wrestling that add a nicely feminist vein to the film. They all become as enamoured with Santa as viewers will, hesitant at first but slowly coming around to how special she is.
However, as Cielo approaches its end, a few questions arise as to what its ultimate meaning is and whether the heaviest of its topics are being handled with utmost sensitivity. The theme of suicide runs throughout and while you can feel the intentions, there’s a slightly uncomfortable quality to it in the final scenes. Ultimately, it feels as though we’re not getting a definitive moment to cement why Santa has these powers, what they’re serving and what the film wants to say. There is a nice message to be found of enjoying the here and now rather than trying to rush into the next but it’s missing a more powerful note, resulting in it fizzling out.
Cielo is brilliantly original and strikes a unique tone to build a curious and infectious adventure. Fernanda Gutiérrez Aranda is strikingly charming and a highly individual character who is effortless to watch on her strange yet hopeful journey. The direction brings in huge blasts of colour to really lean into the imaginative and magical nature of the story, while cleverly not removing it from reality. It’s a strong piece of filmmaking from Alberto Sciamma, it simply feels let down by an unsatisfying ending, lacking a bold, clear note to do justice to the film’s distinctive and endearing personality.
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