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A crocodile corpse isn’t something I ever thought I’d have sympathy for – but then again, I never thought he would, he’s a world-worn and toothpick-thin man. A better student of anatomy will be able to draw the flexible fibers in the hunter’s back and arms, how they sway with each tense moment. When he ties up a crocodile to remove the skin and sell it for meat and parts, I felt like the documentary I was watching asked the question, “Is cruelty necessary for survival?
To the west, in Zapata This is the story of one family in the swamps of Zapata, Cuba: Lundy, who travels every few days to the local swamp to hunt crocodiles for money, and his wife Mercedes, who stays at home and cares for their son, Danys (who has special needs to get carbon. Directed by David Beam in this documentary, directed by David Beam in his feature debut. Part 1 is devoted With Landy’s week in the swamp, and the second part focusing on Mercedes’ life with Dany, despite Landy’s cyclical returns and departures, I would say that Danys, a delightful and adventurous boy, is the heart of the film.
Beam encountered the family while hiking in his 20s when he stopped to ask Mercedes for water. Partly out of youthful brilliance, partly out of loving hospitality, he ended up staying on the couch in their house. The idea for the film arose from the dichotomy in Mercedes: a woman holding great power and weakness in both palms, having to hold back her parents and family while Landy goes into the swamp. I kept thinking about the younger versions of these people and who they were before the world turned them into those versions – did Merced ever dream of fancy dresses and public dances? Did Lundy have a Stretch Armstrong figure and play pirates in the grass with his friends?
The dynamic between Landi and Mercedes feels endlessly fascinating as a viewer. Their separation drives the film, both emotionally and cinematically. There’s almost a sense of freedom in the first part, watching Landy maneuver through the swamp out of pure necessity, guided by instinct, accompanied only by the director with the camera. He eats rice cooked over a fire, drinks water from a stream and sleeps in a tent under a mosquito net. In some of the best cinematic sound design of the year, the film’s land section is quiet, the rhythms of nature around him blending in and becoming its own symphony: flies buzz to a crescendo as sparks die down, and footsteps patter across the swamp floor. with the radio broadcasting the same news about Cuba during the pandemic. In contrast, Mercedes’ life is loud; We learn the name of his screaming son. There’s an instant loudness throughout the film—the din of small-town voices, the occasional words of Dainis. None of the voices feel premeditated. The cacophony of this second part is accompanied by the grueling work of Merced’s life as she raises a family, takes care of a child and goes home to collect coal, all without the support of a partner and her own body ailing.
In a Q&A after the film, Beam explained that he draws inspiration from Dostoyevsky’s idea that characters never stand still, always walk. Idleness is a luxury in Beam’s world, where Lundy is shot dead while walking a crocodile as he wades through a swamp without a map, only to remember the way back to base camp, where Mercedes walks down the beach, holds Dane’s hand, and wades belly-deep into the water without flinching. The constant action and the addition of highly curated sound design create a film that, despite being shot in black and white, feels warm, rich and personal. The lack of color accentuates the wear and tear on each subject’s face, enhancing the film’s emotional texture rather than its physical one.
As I stated in the introduction, this film is an exercise in exploring harmless cruelty. Lundy’s departure is only a matter of saving his family, despite how Mercedes struggles without him and the expectations placed on him. The crocodile dies in a rudimentary, painful way to be sold for money and medicine. Perhaps the true “cruelty” of the film is the existence of this necessary rift between them. The small moments that Land and Mercedes steal when he returns home are too fleeting for them to get over until they see each other again. In the background of strife is love, and that in itself is victory over circumstance.
The writer has to give special thanks to Business Iceland for facilitating this coverage.
