| Fuckland | |
|---|---|
Screenshot of Fabián Stratas |
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| Directed by | José Luis Márques |
| Produced by | Executive Producer: Diego Dubcovsky Producers: Edi Flehner Mariano Suez |
| Written by | José Luis Márques |
| Starring | Fabián Stratas Camilla Heaney |
| Music by | Sergio Figueroa |
| Cinematography | Alejandro Hartman José Luis Marquès Guillermo Naistat Fabián Stratas |
| Editing by | Pipo Bonamino |
| Release date(s) | September 21, 2000 |
| Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | Argentina |
| Language | Spanish English |
Fuckland (2000) is an Argentine comedy-drama film. It was written and directed by José Luis Márques. The picture was executive produced by Diego Dubcovsky, and produced by Edi Flehner and Mariano Suez.[1]
The film was shot on digital video and is the first Latin American film to follow the avant garde Dogme 95 movement minimalist guidelines.
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The film takes place decades after the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom for the control of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The film tells of Fabián Stratas, a magician and stand-up comedian from Buenos Aires, who saves his money from weddings, birthdays, and bar mitzvahs, and uses a hidden camera to document a week-long trip to the Falkland Islands, (or "Fuckland", as he calls them), where he has an ingenious Argentine patriotic plan: to impregnate a Falklander woman.
Stratas has a theory: if only 500 Argentines did the same each year, the islands would soon be overrun with half-Argentines, and he would be the head of a "sexual invasion." Brilliant idea, he thinks.
He spends his first couple of days on the island doing reconnaissance, and soon sets his eyes on Camila Heaney, whom he first saw in church.
He chats her up at an Internet café and then they go out for drinks, which is followed by dinner. They also take a field trip to see the King penguins and the 1982 battlefield.
Fabian has initial success, getting to have sex with Camila twice, first in his hotel room and then on the beach. He succeeds and manages to impregnate her before leaving for Buenos Aires, cocky and happy for having achieved his goal and duped his lover. However, Heaney gets the last word, making a videotape on Fabian's camera where she denounces him as the shallow, condescending and self-centered Argentine he is. After this, the camera shows Stratas, unfazed by Camila's anger, taking a shower while singing the Charly García cover of the Argentine National Anthem.
The picture was recorded illegally in the Falkland Islands in 1999, and was made without the permission of the local government.
The film features only seven professional actors. They improvised their scenes with local residents, who were not made aware that they were taking part in the production of a feature film.
Actress Camilla Heaney was not told of Stratas' motivations for their romance before their scenes were shot.[2]
The picture did break a few of the Dogme 95 guidelines: the use of digital video format, as opposed to Academy 35mm format, the use of music and the directorial credit given to José Luis Marques.
Filming locations
The film was filmed on location in Stanley, Falkland Islands.
The producers used the following taglines to market the film:[3]
The film opened wide in Argentina on September 21, 2000.
The film was presented at various film festivals, including: the London Film Festival, London, England; the Jeonju Film Festival, South Korea; the Melbourne International Film Festival, Australia; the Flanders International Film Festival, Belgium; and the Sundance Film Festival, Utah in 2001.
The film was hit hard by critics. While some called it subversive and libelous, others like critic Christopher Null thought it boring. He wrote, "While a few of our hero's 'smooth moves' are mildly entertaining, most of the film is filled with the monotony of his daily rituals. He does a few magic tricks, gets a haircut, brushes his teeth, takes a piss. Some of this is in focus. Fuckland indeed."[4]
The Village Voice's Amy Taubin thought the film was not noteworthy on any level, writing, "Fuckland is less interesting for its adherence to the Dogme rules than as a failed attempt at director José Luis Márques's project of 'Real Fiction Filmmaking'...Unfortunately, the fictional premise of Fuckland is so absurd, it doomed the enterprise from the start."[5]
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