THE STORY – A group of misfits converges at Babel, a legendary dive bar that doubles as purgatory, where La Flaca — the city’s Grim Reaper — presides. Here, souls gamble years of their lives with her, daring to outwit Death herself.
THE CAST – Saray Rebolledo, Felipe Aguilar Rodríguez, John Alex Castillo, William Hurtado, Santiago Pineda & Celina Biurrun
THE TEAM – Gala del Sol (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 113 Minutes
On its surface, “Rains Over Babel” seems like the kind of kaleidoscopic, energetic film best enjoyed by a midnight audience. It has all the trappings of a cult classic – a queer perspective, camp quality, and an offbeat premise. But surprisingly, it most closely resembles a neo-noir. Specifically, the kinds of twisty-turny, borderline indecipherable noirs that have been a mainstay of the subgenre since the days of Raymond Chandler. It’s far from audience-friendly (at least not a mainstream audience), but “Rains Over Babel” has delights in store for those willing to journey with it into the underground.
The film defies typical plot structure, namely because so many different plots are happening all at once. It takes place in a parallel netherworld where a bar called Babel serves as a type of purgatory. There, wayward souls gamble with La Flaca (Saray Rebolledo) – a sort of Grim Reaper – with years of their lives stuck in limbo on the line. This is but the jumping-off point for a whole host of different stories, including chapters about a troupe of drag queens featuring a secretive pastor’s son (William Hurtado), a man named Dante (Felipe Aguilar Rodríguez) paying off his debt to La Flaca by collecting recently-departed souls, and more.
If that all sounds like a lot to take in, that’s because it is. The film is, seemingly intentionally, overwhelming. Viewers are thrown into the deep end from the minute the film starts with little guidance, except for snippets of information tossed off by a mysterious bartender named El Boticario (Santiago Pineda). But these explanatory crumbs merely add to the pile of character names, histories, and motivations of which to keep track. This is where the noir comparison comes in, and much like those stories featuring arguably too many plots, side plots, figures, diversions, red herrings, and reasons, it’s best to tap into the film’s wavelength and not get preoccupied with the details. This isn’t to say that this is a “turn your brain off” movie, but rather to focus on every minute factor that this overstuffed movie presents, which is a surefire way to get lost in its underworld, like Eurydice in the dark.
And what a world! Writer-director Gala del Sol has seemingly conjured up the exact setting she’d imagined when writing the film. Decadent and gorgeous, it’s a neon-drenched environment made up of ornately constructed and decorated sets. Jaime Luna’s production design must be commended – his realization of del Sol’s vision is essential in effectively transporting audiences to the world of Babel and its surroundings. Sten Olson’s cinematography is appropriately dreamy and well-lit, capturing the environs populated by the otherworldly characters in a way that feels caught between our world and one that’s mystically elsewhere.
“Rains Over Babel” may be trying and sometimes downright confusing, but so is life. In that way, it seeks to reflect the human experience by exaggerating our boring, old real world. With vibrant locations and even more vibrant characters, it’s a story about the dead that’s bursting with life.
