Utama

It's obnoxious to keep saying that I wish certain features were shorts, but I say this because I too often see films that I think would be powerful as short films but lose much of their impact as features. Many will disagree with me on this when it comes to Utama, the universally acclaimed drama which is Bolivia's entry for the 95th Academy Awards. The minimalist story follows an elderly Quechua couple living in the Bolivian highlands whose tranquil life live is threatened by climate change. While they continue their daily traditions—he takes their llamas out to graze on the few reaming shrubs near the foot of a mountain while she walks for miles with the other local women to get water—many in their community have left since the rains stopped coming. When their grandson comes to visit, all three question their traditions in the face of changing times.

Directed by photographer-turned-filmmaker Alejandro Loayza Grisi with cinematography by Barbara Alvarez, Utama is certainly a powerful film visually. These folks look like they're trying to farm on Mars, in an environment totally hostile to human life. We can only guess what the region looked like before the drought, but I'd assume the minimal greenery the lamas must schlep out to every day was much more abundant, or they would have built their houses closer to the foot of the mountains. The script does not lean too hard into the intergenerational conflict inherent in the relationship between the grandfather and grandson, which is welcome, since it is abundantly clear. However, the silent, stoic scenes of conflict that should build up a tension of inevitability result instead in a feeling of mere predictability.