Both a gentle portrait of city life as viewed from an upstairs window and a charming study of the relationship between a father and his young and playful daughter, Malintzin 17 is an absorbing gem of a film…short, sweet and given additional poignancy when the provenance of the footage from which it is edited is finally revealed.
It is appropriate that the director credit is shared between Polgovsky and his sister Mara given that she has constructed a narrative of sorts that not only reflects what Eugenio was trying to assemble during his week of filming but also acts as a sensitive memento of sorts. But her work is never heavy-handed or maudlin – rather the finished film acts as a rather beautiful and unassuming slice of life.
Eugenio Polgovsky trains his camera on the street below his Mexico City apartment (the address of the film’s title), recording life as it passes by, but more importantly points it at an Inca dove that has made its nest on telephone lines below his window, and which acts as a prompt for gently amusing and tender conversations with his five-year-old daughter Milena.
She stands on a large black stone watching life outside as the film opens, and comments: “The neighbour in the car is going to get angry…I want to get closer…the bird hasn’t moved yet.” Her father asks why… “Laying eggs,” she responds astutely. “Tweet, tweet” she calls out. “Hey birdie why did you choose this spot?”
For seven days and nights, Polgovsky filmed the bird from his second floor apartment. And together with daughter Milena, he watches life go by: the bin men, their neighbours and their dogs, local students, the delivery man, formations of aircraft flying overhead and squirrels dashing through the treetops in search of food… all largely viewed from the same perspective, though it is the brooding pigeon who gets most attention.
“Papa, why are you filming her, really?” Milena asks. In truth it allows for the delightful relationship between father and daughter to flourish as he encourages her curiosity, and she responds with gently philosophical questions about the way nature exists within a very human infrastructure. The pair have fun together and connect over their shared tendency to inquisitiveness and observation, leaving the fact of their future separation ever more bittersweet.
Music and sound is largely ambient (from tunes played by car radios through to chatter from the streets) though at one point a little piano music plays as the dove resolutely looks after its eggs during a rainfall. And only once does Polgovsky pull his camera away from filming the street, when a young man looks up at this window and directly into the camera.
Malintzin 17 is a generously moving film and a wonderful tribute to a warm and charming father/daughter relationship. It is also a moving and memorable tribute to a family member, with Mara Polgovsky gathering her brother’s footage in order to deliver something rather special.
Mexico, 2022, 64mins
Dirs Eugenio Polgovsky, Mara Polgovsky
Production Tecolote Films, Piano
International sales Tecolote Films
Producers Mara Polgovsky, Julio Chavezmontes
Screenplay Mara Polgovsky
Cinematography Eugenio Polgovsky
Editors Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio, Mara Polgovsky
