Crab Trap (El Vuelco del Cangrejo) (2009)

Crab Trap opens very simply with a shot of a jungle path before a hiker shambles out of the green and onto the trail. Where he has come from and where is is going (or whether he ever gets there) we never learn, though we witness a few clues. His entire goal is to reach the coastal town, find a boat, and leave (for anywhere). His only option, he is told once he arrives, are the fishermen, who will be away for 2-3 more weeks. So he is trapped indefinitely in the poverty-laden coastal Colombian village that has for generations been settled by blacks (exemplified by their unorthodox but resourceful ad hoc leader, Cerebro) but is poised to come under siege by whites (exemplified by Paisa, who hopes to build up tourist trade with a ramshackle beachfront "hotel" and begins insinuating pimp-like tentacles of manipulation into the village and esp. Cerebro's niece). The traveler, Daniel, remains guarded while probing every possible way to locate a boat but warms up to a precocious young village girl, Lucia, who has taken an immediate liking to him. (Every day she asks, "Are you going to buy lunch from my mother?" She is a natural talent and several great scenes involve a day the two spend together.) In the end, the movie is about entering and passing through the unknown: Are we all just ships passing in the night? How do we make the most of the journey (since it is all we have if and until we reach the destination)? Lucia's words explain the title: "When you flip a crab over on its back, it can't escape." I saw this film at Houston's sixth Latin Wave film festival, after which the director spoke at length and answered questions. Crab Trap was filmed in the isolated coastal village of La Barra and the native characters are inhabitants of that village. The director developed a relationship with the village members and made the film over five years. Crab Trap is a hauntingly plaintive movie that I won't soon forget and I'd sincerely like to see it again. 4.5 stars.