Cornerhouse Digital Reporter Ben Williams reviews Acorazado
Mexican comedy Acorazado (Battleship) is a debut feature from director Álvaro Curiel. The story centres on the hapless Silverio, a former union worker living in the port of Veracruz. He earns his keep shaking a collection can at tourists and hassling them with faux political ravings until they’re irritated enough to make a donation. His days are spent playing games with his friends and being the butt of their jokes; a tolerable alternative to his miserable home and his domineering wife.
Silvero needs little encouragement to leave in search of ‘The American Dream’. He hatches a plan to cross The Gulf of Mexico using a VW Beetle as his flotation device. All Silverio needs to do is keep heading north-east until he meets the Florida Keys and can turn himself over, claiming to be a Cuban escaping Communism. What could go wrong? Typically, for poor Silverio, the answer is everything.
A storm sends our hero off course where he washes up in Cuba. Sticking to his story, he claims political asylum, though now he’s escaping the evils of Capitalism. Comrade Silverio quickly becomes something of a political poster boy and it doesn’t take him long to exploit everything in his new life. With new friends, an exciting love interest and a life better than he may ever have known, we see if Silverio can learn to enjoy his lot in life or keep grasping for the unreachable dream.
The film has all the vibrancy you might expect with locations split between Mexico and Cuba and the action set to an upbeat soundtrack. The Havana setting and the performances of the Cuban and Mexican cast are some of the film’s most pleasing aspects. The central performance by Silverio Palacios (playing Silverio) is perfectly judged. He plays a character I laughed with and laughed at but without him losing a believable human realism. There is a depth and sadness to Silverio’s everyman character and although fate seems against him, he is very much his own worst enemy.
Acorazado is an encouraging, well paced debut from Curiel. He skilfully balances the humour and subtlety in an enjoyable cautionary tail of ‘be careful what you wish for’. Perhaps the most isn’t made from the tension he’d built towards the end, but the final scene is satisfying and I left the film with a smile.
Acorazado screens Tue 13 & Sun 18 March as part of ¡Viva!. Book your tickets here.