The Shadow Of The Sun

Everything in our solar system has a shadow except the sun, explains Alex (Anyelo Lopez). But the sun could cast a shadow too, if one were to create something else which shone even brighter.

In Acarigua, in North West Venezuela, shining brightly isn’t a good idea. Though once the capital of its state, Portuguesa, this isn’t exactly the most forward-looking part of the world, and even though he works quietly as a caterer, the youth has attracted the wrong sort of attention. When there’s trouble, his big brother, Leo (Carlos Manuel Gonzalez) has to step in to protect him, but Leo is facing troubles of his own. Despite working hard in his factory job, he’s behind on the rent, and if he can’t raise money fast, he and his partner Yolanda will lose their home.

Where once it was all about demonstrating talent on the football pitch or getting ‘discovered’ as a model, today the big source of hope for residents of poor communities all over the world is the TV talent show. The Shadow Of The Sun is Venezuela’s official submission for the 2024 Oscars, but its story is essentially an international one. Faced with impossible circumstances, the two brothers strive to create a song powerful enough to change their lives. The catch is that whilst Alex is a great songwriter, he’s Deaf, so he needs Leo to bring his work to life onstage.

Leo does not look like the average pop star. When I describe him as a big brother, I mean it: he’s well over six feet tall and made of solid muscle. He could probably win Eurovision just by taking his shirt off, but Venezuela does things a little more discreetly. What his size means is that he has a remarkable pair of lungs, something which is revealed early on when he picks a fight in a bar and is told that if he wants to get out of there with his teeth, he’ll have to entertain the local gangsters by singing something. He doesn’t disappoint.

As it turns out, before his parents died and he gave up on his dreams to become Alex’s guardian, Leo was in a band, and so the first half of the film is primarily concerned with the familiar business of getting the band back together. Meanwhile, he bickers with Yolanda, and it gradually becomes apparent that there are serious problems between the two of them – problems which, perhaps because of his physical size and the illusion of power it creates, he hasn’t been taking seriously enough. Gradually the practical reasons for embarking on the pop star project give way to something that is more about character, as Leo needs to rediscover his self-esteem and recognise that his value extends beyond what he can do for other people.

As it shifts gears in this regard, the film also delves further into the darker side of life in Acarigua, with Alex getting into a situation which is at once full of promise and desperately dangerous. There is material here which has rarely been addressed in Venezuelan cinema, at least in the way that it is here. By centring the relationship between the brothers, the film is able to challenge deep rooted notions about masculinity from a perspective which is itself rooted in the traditional – a good man always stands by the family he was born into. It’s a bold piece of work which emphasises the ways in which the country is opening up yet also finds a rich vein of material in the complexities and contradictions of its transitional state.

Not all of this will translate easily for casual viewers elsewhere. Fortunately, the film has plenty of charm to carry it through. Gonzalez has great comic timing. There’s a lovely moment when he goes to enter the shack where they plan to rehearse and the door just falls down flat in front of him. This kind of humour is lightly used so that it doesn’t compromise the film’s dramatic aspects but instead contributes to our understanding of the camaraderie between the brothers.

Much of the film is formulaic and, as such, it seems unlikely to win any big prizes itself, but it’s an enjoyable piece of work which should have international potential. It serves as a reminder that it’s possible to take on big issues and make them easy for anyone to connect with whilst entertaining at the same time.