2017, 1 hr. & 45 min., color and animation
This animated gem has
introduced me, and I am sure thousands of other viewers, to a Mexican holiday
we have never previously heard of. It is
called Dia de los Muertos, roughly translated Day of the Dead. That sounds like something threatening. Maybe a day when the dead come back in
ghostly form to haunt us! Maybe they
invade our lives and spread sickness or the germs of death! Maybe they inflict pain on us and inhabit our
bodies, driving us crazy or at least attempting to! No graves are opened, but perhaps the dead
circulate among us in another and invisible form!
Halloween, which Dia de los
Muertos is not, is regarded in some tribal societies as the day when the dead
speak to the living. In the 2002 film
“In America”, which I regard as one of my very favorites and have not ceased to
adore, the African character Mateo, a widower afflicted with AIDS with only
months to live, explains to the two girls who come trick-or-treating at his
door what it means for his people. How
do the dead speak to his people? Through
the villagers dancing! The dance
movements speak for them. They do not speak pleasant words; they complain that
they are not getting enough attention from the living. You don’t feed me! I feel neglected! When one of the girls asks if they are ever
happy, he tells them that when all is well, they are not heard from.
In Mexican tradition the tone
and spirit of the Day of the Dead is much more joyous. The families of the departed bring out and
display everything that the dead during their lifetimes valued and loved –
objects, keepsakes, old garments, photos, etc.
The house is dressed up in the refinery of the ancestors to entice them
to come by. The dead speak through the
display and vice versa. Dia de los Muertos is a celebratory event. It does not coincide with our Halloween; it
is a hallowed time unto itself.
The main character is a
twelve-year-old boy named Miguel, who has an instinct for music, one he thinks
he has received from his great great grandfather who has become a
world-renowned guitarist and singer by the name of Ernesto del a Cruz, a man
whose musical career was cut short by a seemingly freak accident that cost him
his life. Miguel worships the memory of
Cruz and yearns to obtain a guitar of his own to follow in the great musician’s
footsteps. But one humungous obstacle
stands in his way: music has come to be forbidden in his household by his
elders. It seems Cruz deserted his wife
and children all those generations back, believing that he had to play for the
world, not just for members of his immediate family; he left and never
returned, so all music and all references to music have been banished from the
home.
In rebellious anger Miguel
runs away and by some metaphysical accident lands in the Realm of the Dead. The
adventures he has there are quite phenomenal and quite eye opening. This being a fantasy, the film enlarges our
imaginations and makes the place a staggeringly beautiful, jaw-dropping
extravaganza. If such a place actually
existed and was known to the Living, I surmise that many would prefer to reside
there; we would have an epidemic of suicides.
But no one among the Living knows about it – except now Miguel of
course, and he soon yearns to be able to return to his people. According to the laws of this make believe
universe, one’s continued existence in any form depends upon the faithfulness
of living family members in their strict observance of Dia de los Muertos. Those gone and forgotten vaporize slowly from
the scene.
Soon Miguel meets, befriends
and is befriended by a man threatened with vaporization named Hector. I should say he meets the likeness
of a man – a skeletal likeness to be exact.
You see, every inhabitant of this Realm of the Dead is in skeletal
form! And never has bone and marrow
caricature been more amusing and fascinating to watch than the gangling,
knock-need, loose jointed swarm we meet in this crazy paradise. What a treat
they are, so much so that you may not want to part company with them at the end
of the film.
Miguel enlists Hector’s help
in making contact with Cruz, who stays most of the time out of sight, making an
appearance only when he is in concert; it seems Cruz’s reputation as a gifted
singer/guitarist has followed him right into the grave and beyond; a massive
audience gathers to attend his concerts, an audience of skeletons that is. Cruz himself is one. Contact with the famous man is made and when
Cruz learns that Miguel is an aspiring singer, he suddenly takes a keen
interest in the boy.
Sounds promising for Miguel,
does it not? But we and the boy are in
for a shock. Cruz has a secret that he
has kept for many years and the disclosure of it puts Miguel and Hector in
great peril. Hector also has a secret
but one he is reticent to share with anyone – at first
I will not reveal any more
for the sake of those who have not seen the film. Believe me, the discovery of these secrets is
worth the wait! The story really gets
into high gear once we learn. Cliff
hanging thrills, fanciful flights, scampering four-legged animals, a giant
air-born serpent all play a major role in getting Miguel home safely. And there
are heart pounding and heart melting scenes that you are likely to treasure
amidst all the folklore you have ever accumulated in the course of your lives,
whatever your age.
Now who is Coco? She is a very aged, senile, hunched over
woman who never moves from her chair.
She is Miguel’s great grandmother, who does not recognize people so very
well anymore, with her mind fading. The
word dementia is never spoken in the dialogue, nor does it have to be. It turns out, however, that Miguel has a deep
need that only she can fill. What a
climactic scene the two of them have!
Basic to the story is the teaching that family is top priority, both in
this world and the next. Nothing comes
before it.
The movie was produced by
Disney/Pixar, under the supervision of Daria K. Anderson, directed by Lee
Unkrich and Adrian Molina, with script by Molina, Matthew Aldrich and Jason
Katz, and brilliant camera work by Matt Aspbury and lighting by Danielle
Feinberg. Steve Bloom is responsible for
the first rate editing. The music, vocal
and otherwise, was composed by Michael Giacchino, who won the Oscar for Best
Song, entitled “Remember Me”. Of course the film also won Best Animated
Feature. The voice of Miguel was
provided by child actor Anthony Gonzalez, that of Hector by Gael Garcia Bernal
and that of Cruz by Benjamin Bratt.
“Coco” is a richly textured
masterpiece that I have seen three times and hope to again. It has set new box office records, grossing
over 950 million dollars worldwide, a stunning achievement for the first
animated movie ever to feature an entirely Mexican cast of characters; not a
single non-Hispanic individual ever shows up.
All who cherish family movies and sensitive ones about growth and
personal discovery should hop on this and take it to heart.
To read other entries in my
blog, please consult its website:
enspiritus.blogspot.com. To know
about me, consult the autobiographical entry on the website for Dec. 5, 2016.
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