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Released by: Film Movement
Released on: February 7, 2012.
Director: Gabriel Rojas Vera
Cast: Angela Carrizosa
Year: 2011
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The Movie:
Fairly early on in Gabriel Rojas Vera's directorial debut the lead character, Karen (Angela Carrizosa), reveals that she's reading for pleasure again and calls out Ibsen's A Doll's House specifically. That famous story of a woman coming into her own and the consequences she must then deal with frame the story here in Karen Cries On the Bus. It's an honest and sincere film that treats its female characters quite well, giving them lots of room to grow throughout the course of the movie.
Karen leaves her husband, taking up residence in a sketchy apartment. It's clear she has been fairly sheltered as she has to now deal with living with others and trying to find a job. Having no real skills after being a devoted housewife for years she has a hard time of it. She's soon running small scams to get pocket change enough to afford to eat and also stealing small necessities from a local supermarket. The men in the world don't seem very interested in her plight, seeing her as just some pathetic cheapskate or thief trying to take advantage of them. Even her insurance salesman ex-husband is distant and cold, trying to order for her and just talking work when they go out early on in the story.
Karen soon finds a supportive friend in another apartment, Patricia (Angelica Sanchez) - a young, flirtatious woman who's been wounded by love in the past and now just wants to string men along and party. Her promiscuity and entertaining lifestyle are a nice contrast for Karen as she begins to come out of her shell a bit. On a double date she soon meets Eduardo (Juan Manuel Diaz Oroztegui) who seems like a genuinely good guy. When Karen discovers he's a playwright she's instantly interested and the two begin a tentative, slightly nervous courtship. As he's the first man she's ever been with romantically and sexually apart from her husband it takes Karen a while to open up and see what Eduardo can offer her. Between Patricia and Eduardo, then, Karen is given more experiences to grow from and more opportunities to try and find her own way.
Director Vera uses some clever story structure to not push Karen's development into an strong, independent woman too quickly, letting those around her help provide context for her personal growth. The opening and closing scenes echo one another and focus on Karen's reactions, the ending scene demonstrating how far she's come and how well she's done.
Video/Audio/Extras:
This disc from Film Movement also includes an eight-minute short film titled Lessons From the Night, a documentary following office building cleaning woman Maia. As she's shown cleaning she provides her thoughts on the insights that provides her and what this type of work means for an older Bulgarian woman who once had a promising career that was dashed by the swing of politics.
The DVD for the film comes in 1.78:1 ratio and handles it well enough. Vera's film doesn't exactly push the boundaries of visual style but nothing gets lost or overwhelmed that's on the screen. The 5.1 surround track is exceptionally well implemented, utilizing the surround functions to truly immerse the viewer into Karen's new world. This Colombian film comes with Spanish-only audio and English-only subs as well. Also included are some very brief bios of the film's star and its director, along with the theatrical trailer and a few others from Film Movement.
Summary:
A genuine tale of female self-discovery and fruition in a male-dominated world Karen Cries On the Bus is a well-done story, told very competently. It's yet another quality release from the Film Movement folks.
