Northern Skies Over Empty Space (2022)

Northern Skies Over Empty Space (Spanish: El norte sobre el vacío) is a 2022 Mexican drama film directed by Alejandra Márquez Abella and written by Abella & Gabriel Nuncio, starring Gerardo Trejoluna and Paloma Petra. It is inspired by a true story where a Mexican cowboy and hunter, named Don Alejo Garza, defended his ranch from organized crime, who wanted to take it from him in 2010. It won the Best Mexican Feature Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor awards for Gerardo Trejoluna at the 20th Morelia International Film Festival, as well as Best Movie in the Arieles.

Synopsis

Don Reynaldo is a renowned hunter on the decline, but when the threat of losing his inheritance and his father's legacy looms, his entire life is turned dangerously upside down.

Cast

The actors participating in this film are:

Gerardo Trejoluna as Don Reynaldo

Paloma Petra as Rosa

Dolores Heredia as Sofía

Mayra Hermosillo as Lily

Francisco Barreiro as Elías

Mariana Villegas as Laura

Fernando Bonilla as Raúl

Juan Daniel García Treviño as Tello

Raúl Briones as Guzmán

Marco García as Arnulfo

Yahir Alday as Braulio

Gabriel Almaguer as Wenceslao

Bebo Cantú as Félix

Gabriel Nuncio as Pepón

Camille Mina as Vicky

Pato Alvarado as Adrián

Diego García as Beto

Mariel Alanís as Isis

Aglae Lingow as Bunny

Leonardo Huerta as Clown

Carlos Lenin as Cousin 1

Ernesto Treviño as Cousin 2

Oliver Cantú Lozano as Cowboy 1

Hamish Anderson as Cowboy 2

Production

Principal photography took place in the states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, Mexico, where they had to deal with organized crime to film in peace.

Release

Northern Skies Over Empty Space had its international premiere on February 12, 2022, at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival as part of the Panorama selection. It premiered internationally on October 28, 2022, on Amazon Prime Video.

Reception

Critical reception

Lee Marshall from Screendaily wrote: "The bravura of the transition between grim school drama and western, and the way the two genres coexist and intertwine, make it so rich [...] Outstanding performances from Trejoluna and Petra". Ernesto Diezmartínez from Letras Libres wrote: "The premise is compelling and, at least in the first few minutes, Márquez Abella promises a mocking take on heroism, virility, and toxic patriarchy ... Unfortunately, in the second part the film completely collapses, between dispersion and indecision: the class tensions between Don Reynaldo and all his employees –especially with the bragada Rosita– are more than obvious but are handled in a confusing way, there are telegraphed twists that go nowhere".

Accolades

References

External links

Northern Skies Over Empty Space at IMDb