Quickcard Review - Chicago International Film Festival Quickcard Gigante

Directed by: Adrian Biniez Cast: Hermando Camadule, Leonor Svarcas Running Time: 1 hr 25 mins Rating: NR

PLOT: A department store security guard has a crush on a janitor he monitors. But he can only watch her, not speak to her. Winner of the Gold Hugo at the New Directors Competition.

WHO'S IT FOR? A really cheap comparison for Gigante would be if Ronnie from Observe and Report spent an entire movie watching Brandi without ever talking to her. Anyone curious by a foreign, slightly less funny and equally nicely shot version of this should take a gander.

OVERALL

When it comes to wooing, some of us are not Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack, or even Tucker Max. Hell, even Michael Cera has got more game than most of us. In fact, a fair majority of us are probably like Gigante's lovably awkward Jara. We don’t know what to say or do to get our dream guy/gal to notice us, but it’s still difficult to resist the urge to observe our crush as they simply exist in their apparent beauty. As much as we wish we could proclaim our attraction to that someone so secretly special to us, we can be disabled by our fears and possible lack of sufficient self-confidence. For most of us, being recognized by our prospect is not a gift but a chore. Gigante is a very special film in that it wholly appreciates the metaphorical triathlon we desperately run just to be visible to the person we want to notice us the most.

The Uruguayan movie was originally more likely than not a one-page treatment that got delicately expanded to feature length. In such a process, it doesn't appear it has lost its short and sweet charm. A lot of the story’s weight is put on main character Jara, who is on-screen about 90% of the time. And for most of that span, the store security guard is shown watching Julia, his big crush, or any of the other robotic workers of the night shift.

Surveillance is a key part of the film. Whole conversations happening on the main floor are observed with security cameras, and are without sound. This is certainly reflective of the overall experience of Gigante, which is wonderfully frugal with its dialogue. Director Adrian Biniez makes a smart decision in realizing that such a simple concept would lose its sweetness were it loaded with even a regular amount of banter.

Much of the attention that Jara focuses on Julia could be considered creepy – he follows the woman as she partakes in regular activities, like going to an internet café or a trip to the cinema, all of this without even knowing her name. He unknowingly flirts with the label of “stalker,” but the subtle performance of Horatio Camandule keeps the character’s actions to be endearing, if not oddly genuine. Let's be honest: who doesn’t act weirdly when they have a big crush on someone?

FINAL SCORE: 8/10