Primary Peruvian exports include non-monetary gold powder, cooper ores, concentrates, cathodes and non-crude oil. You can now add to the list supremely compelling cinema as Magallanes, the product of first-time Peruvian director Salvador del Solar, is a true festival stunner. Soaked in a gleeful amount of real world suspense and intensified by rich dramatic character work from its apt principal cast, the slow-but-steady-building drama-thriller is a certifiable symphony of hard-won victories – both from a narrative and practical standpoint.

Peru has not enjoyed cinematic success equivalent to that of other Latin American countries, with only a handful of films produced in the region each year (an average of 8 annually.) Amongst those films, only a fraction of them are actually seen by its populace, with roughly 0.7% of their gross box office accounted for by these national Peruvian films. Due in no small part to the fact that the government film incentives are as shallow as the film’s razor-thin profit margin, that a film like Magallanes exists at all is no small wonder.
An incredibly able storyteller, del Solar draws on his country’s lethiferous past to tell the tale of a sorrowful taxi driver haunted by his wartime misdeeds. Caretaker to a formerly violent but now completely senile Peruvian Colonel (Federico Luppi), the eponymous Magallanes picks up a fare, Celina (Magaly Solier), who unknowingly jolts him out of his static ways, offering a means to atone for his past life while opening up a window, albeit a small one, of hope for his future.

Played expertly by Mexican actor, Damián Alcázar puts in a sympathetic and thoughtful performance as Magallanes that gives rich dramatic weight to the morally ambiguous character. Always seemingly with his back against the wall, Magallanes inserts himself into a dangerous game of cat and mouse by blackmailing his boss’ son with a photograph of a 14-year old sex slave Celina with his then-powerful (and very much adult) father. Navigating the tricky landscape of blackmail, Magallanes proves a deft capacity to remain one narrow step ahead of his downfall. The character, somewhat surprisingly, proves just as crafty as Del Solar’s direction (and misdirection), often steering us towards one logical conclusion before doubling back and blowing it up in our collective, expectant faces.

As a fulcrum to Alcázar’s penitent cabbie, Solier’s Celina refuses to be victimized by her degraded circumstance and provides a hefty performance that crescendos alongside the film’s mounting tension. As Magallanes searches for a handout in his past’s darkest episode, Celina expects no reparations. For the many shades of gray in del Solar’s picture, Celina is determinately light. A scene that has her literally running for the hills is lit and photographed perfectly by cinematographer Diego Jiménez who allows her mad dashing shadow to overwhelm the shot, swallowing her in blackness against the stark twinkle of Peru’s gleaming city lights. It’s not the first, or last, inspired bite of cinematography found in Magallanes.

For how twisted and essentially punitive the events of Magallanes can be, it’s impressive that del Solar never condescends to his audience by providing an easy escape. Bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen to morally ambiguous people. Bad things happen to bad people. Bad things happen. Interestingly enough, the chief harbinger of “bad things”, Milton (the very amusing Bruno Odar) is the only one willing to admit what he is, both to himself and to his friend Magallanes. He is a man of violence. Unlike Magallanes, he knows who he is.

Though del Solar’s film extols an overall condemnation of violence (sexual or otherwise), there is something sickly sweet and wildly effective about its occasional use here, with one scene boldly reminiscent of Tarantino’s gnarled debut, Reservoir Dogs. (But with one distinct difference.) Interestingly, del Solar compels us to question violence and yet partakes in it almost helplessly. But violence sells, particularly in cinema – take for example the fact that the film’s primary promo image is that of the film’s bloodiest scene – and del Solar must know that. When you’re trying to jump-start a country’s cinematic landscape, you need to play towards the masses.

CONCLUSION: ‘Magallanes’ is both a dramatic showcase for lead Damián Alcázar and a supremely compelling thriller in and of itself. Those seeking high tension and morally challenging material will find plenty of both in this accomplished Peruvian product.