The sultry atmosphere of La Guajira, a desert region that is at the heart of Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego’s “Birds of Passage,” also seeps into “Pimpinero: Blood and Oil,” a disheveled yet frequently narratively complex Colombian crime saga. Set within the savage turf of the hot-blooded ‘Pimpinero’, these actors engage in gasoline smuggling across the desolate border of Colombia and Venezuela (where gas is cheap due to rich oil reserves) while riding on dilapidated cars. The Indigenous community that is more prominent in “Birds,” the Wayuu, appears in lesser numbers but with no less narrative significance in the new work of director Andres Baize who has previously made a Netflix miniseries about the Griselda Blanco, a female cartel leader.
Alejandro Speitzer, now an up and coming Mexican icon and former child actor known for his performance in various Mexican soap operas, takes on the role of Juan in the film which centers around the Estrada clan, a family infamous for their skills in business and driving. Speitzer portrays a man who is multifaceted, showing both power as well as being morally aligned. The film also has Moises, played by the Colombian musician Juanes, who aims to combine opposing forces and surrender to Carmelo, a one-dimensional drug trafficker.
Ulises (Alberto Guerra), a coward who drinks often, quite literally gets caught in the crossfire, one who grapples with his fear of standing up against the local mafia as well his unsettled debts. However, the director considers these dynamics about the brother’s struggle from the perspective of the co-writer – actor dynamics. Acting is an art, and the emotions are tangible and provocative for all three characters, but that’s as much as the conflicts and events go in Uninterrupted comedies, this three-way fusion is rather bleak in inception. Tell me why such a robust determination and loyalty characterized Juan, and on the other hand Ulises, how did he become so weak and subjugated to addiction and decline. No one to understand but indeed the Pimpinero does not portray the difficult one sided relationships of the brothers.
Somewhere in the middle, Baiz and his screenwriter Maria Camila Arias, decide to pay attention to Juan’s girlfriend, Diana (Laura Osma). For most of the movie, Diana seems to be a small part of the plot, but she slowly begins to become a Pimpinero as well a copy of her father but only for a brief while. After the death of the president’s daughter, she goes on a quest trying to find answers in her futile search. The writers manage to deliver on what their script sets up seamlessly, for instance, how Diana and Juan do not go away as easy, instead of going through the simple subplot of eloping.
Rather, a different story emerges where Ousma steps into the role of the lead actress who does not want to even hear of the plans of the ruthless enemies’ explanation. As Ousma leads herself into the lead role with steely determination, the realization that this is a story of Diana begins and everything that happened was just an introduction ruins it all. This kind of storytelling, dis-proportional as it is, does a great disservice to the segments featuring Juan and Diana since neither of them are able to fully develop.
The camera shifts to capture Juan, who is kneeling before the police and appears increasingly indignant as he watches his car go up in flames. Mateo Londono bravely challenges the difference that exists between a nation and its inhabitants. The car seems to encapsulate the innate bond that such a country shares with its people, and that bond is multifaceted. Juan stands up resolutely, emblematic of self determination, and looks out onto a desolate landscape littered with color. The sun shines brightly, cutting the sky with precision. In comparison to Pimpineros’s commotion, Juan’s display of anger appears to be far more brutal. It would be easy to overstate the decadence depicted, with car chases, prostitution, and murder frequenting the harbor, however, such embellishment drastically robs the story of its ability to accurately capture the essence of realism. Baiz, who also co directed several episodes of the hit show “Narcos”, and went on to direct the Spanish version of “Breaking Bad” is well accustomed to portraying such raw and unfiltered stories on the screen.
A great film is one thing “Pimpinero” surely is not but it also is not slightly above average either. Covering the time span of the initial conflict and the revenge plot which continues in the latter half of the movie manages to use the hints and pieces which were needed very much earlier on. The audience is forced to keep up with the changes rather than sit back and immerse themselves into the tale making the emotions which are displayed feel dysfunctional now. Scenes such as Diana comforting Juan or even her mother talking about Juan’s father feel emotions disconnected with the tale and plot a prime example of such error. There always seems to be several aspects missing making the film feel incomplete.
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