'Detective Film' renews the documentary and rethinks Mexican power

Monica Rubalcava

Mexico City, October 25 (EFE). Director Alonso Ruizpalacios blurs the lines of documentary and fiction in a “Detective Film,” while demystifying an abandoned and injured police figure in Mexico.

“No one wants to be a police officer in the country, I ask, what kind of police officer would you be? And in reference to that we can measure the distance between our police. This is the most powerful thing we have to live by” Monica del Carmen replies on Monday in an interview with ive.

With testimonies and voices borrowed from police officers Teresa and Montoya, who tell their tales as security forces, del Carmen and Raul Briones as actors enter a proposal that, while humanizing these mischievous figures in society, is also critical of the Mexican security system.

Briones, who plays Montoya, closely shows the daily life of a city cop, while Del Carmen, who plays Teresa, identifies some of the country’s most pressing problems, such as masculinity and what it means to be a woman. This area of ”acidic moods”.

“There are many documentaries about victims and a few that explore the perspective of the perpetrator and the enemy, and in a polarized environment like the one we live in, we wanted to explore that. We knew it would be challenging,” says Elena Fortes, Producer, at a roundtable with Latin American media:

cinematic story

At the Berlin International Film Festival, the film director’s “Museo” (2018) won the Silver Bear for its artistic contribution and is currently, with this new film, part of the official selection for competition at the Berlin International Film Festival. Morelia, which will take place from next Wednesday to Monday.

From the name, “Detective Film” is an attempt to reconcile entertainment and fantasy with the format of a documentary, and it was the story of two police officers, the perfect person to do so, according to Ruizpalacius.

“(The choice of Montoya and Teresa) is first due to their candor and the way they tell their lives and adventures, which is very interesting,” Ruizpalacius told Efe during the roundtable.

But another reason the director focused his lens on these two characters was the love story that came out of both cops.

“It was a very important part of their lives and it was a haven for them in a very hostile environment,” he says. “Cinema loves love stories and I think it seemed like a great (good) contrast that would give us many opportunities.”

This love is depicted by Del Carmen and Briones, who profess an “adoration” for each other and who, without reading a script or the first draft of the project they were facing, hacked into the country’s real police schools, a process they documented leading them into deep reflections that expose on the screen.

Briones, who has remained steadfast throughout the film with criticism of these characters, and with a desire to “spur action,” concludes that the film is hopeful even when it does not set precise guidelines for what one should or shouldn’t do as a citizen.. in front of these authority figures.

“I take back the hope that there is an opportunity for change within me, and that as a society we can look each other in the eyes again and stop turning our backs on each other and say, ‘The police were an ally to us at one point, what happened?’” he explains. to Ephesus.

The project, which premiered November 5 on Netflix, has garnered two years of creative research and development and two more years of filming and production, and with this Ruizpalacios debuts as a documentary director with production companies Daniela Alatori and Elena Fortes. EFE

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