Liverpool

Liverpool is the title of a film I saw at the BFI Film Fest a few days ago. Directed by Lisandro Alonso, I found it rather painful, with slow drawn out scenes and probably about two dozen lines spoken in the 90 minutes or so running time. The draw was the scenery - Ushuaia and the Tierra del Fuego. Here's the film's story:

A middle-aged sailor, Farrel, leaves his ship and begins a lengthy journey to Tierra del Fuego's interior, to an isolated village set around an old saw mill. The route seems familiar to him, and we gradually piece together his relationship with the community he finds there.


Ushuaia, photo from wiki

I never made it down to the bottom tip of South America on my trip, out of time considerations. The furthest south I reached was Puerto Natales, not bad at over 51 degree S, but there were two cities below me - Punta Arenas (Chile) and Ushuaia (Argentina), right at the bottom. And then below those.. a Chilean island called Navarino, the trekking circuit around which is called the Dientes Circuit.


Photo from wiki

The Dientes Circuit, as well as being the furthest south you can trek short of being on Antarctica, is a remote beautiful place, desolate, with views over the Cape Horn Islands to the south. Here's a fantastic account with photos. I'd love to get there, and regret not finding the time when I was just to the north. Next time, next time..

In other news.. Dean Spanley.. watch out for this film when it comes out on general release... absolutely fantastic!!