Air Conditioner (2020)

Director: Fradique

Screenplay: Fradique and Ery Claver

Cast: José Kiteculoa as Matacedo; Filomena Manuel as Zézinha; David Caracol as Mino; Tito Spyck as Tito; Sacerdote as Kudurista; Filipe Kamela Paly as Filipe; Wilson Medradas as Wilson

 

Trapped in obscurantism, in whateverland

 

Air Conditioner was a disappointment. Made in Southern African country of Angola, a tantalising prospect in seeing a film from a country whose cinema is rarely distributed widely, this lightly surreal tale has a fantastically odd and banal premise. That, in the midst of scorching weather, the country of Angola is going through a bizarre and continuous episode of every air condition malfunctioning in the country. Not merely failure - falling off the sides of buildings which have also caused a lot of deaths as a result.

Over seventy two minutes, the only dynamic arch is that the lead Matacedo (José Kiteculoa), constantly prompted by friend and a strong female figure Zézinha (Filomena Manuel), has to get her boss' air conditioner fixed or she will have to suffer his complaints further. Beyond this, where the country is blaming China for faulty ACs and the heat is agonising, it is not a long bow to draw that this is partially an environmental metaphor. The world we see is a regular urban city, where ever one is getting along with their humdrum lives, but the environment is cramped, there are few if any trees, and all this technology (as represented by the ACs) is prompt breaking to pieces.

At one point, the issue at hand is so bad that, in one of the best sequences, it is literally raining ACs from the sky at mass from buildings. That it is just an ordinary event in a back alley shows how bad the situation has gotten to. It is never explained why this is better, which is for the better, because it is entirely a subjective metaphor. In fact, the mere fact this is happening, and where people can die even without an AC landing on their head, suggests an unstoppable force rupturing the world.

Unfortunately, whilst I am content with a mood piece, not a lot really transpires of interest in Air Conditioner. In fact, Fradique's film, his first theatrical film, is too serious and sombre for its own good, without a lot to drive it. Large portions of the film really embrace the camera following actors from behind, or there are many scenes which lets the diverse score of music take priority over the images; these do not sadly grow as much mood or development in meaning as one could hope.

The only distinct plot change, which suggests more than just the environmental message but also an existential one, is that after waiting impatiently for Mr. Mino (David Caracol), the man who runs the repair shop meant to have fixed the AC, Matacedo and eventually Zézinha learn he has managed to find a way to capture memories on VHS tape. Shown at the end of the film credits in full, they are snippets and life and activity, the film offering that this world (i.e. ours) is losing itself into a mindless bustle. Mino himself has already enclosed himself in his own weird world where, with trees inside his garage which he says will be the last and preserved there, he intends to sit out the world with a car which cannot actually be driven and instead is there for its great air conditioning inside. Something like this, when it appears, is compelling. Likewise, initially thinking something had gone wrong with the version I saw, there are moments as well where no one is talking but there are subtitles onscreen, almost if not all psychic communication, which Matacedo is shown to be able to communicate in. This intrigues in the sense that it will lead to an idea even if it is purely irrational.

Sadly, Air Conditioner never embraces these details. With a score full of jazz and dissonant piano keys, and a rich world to work with, where people scrounge fallen ACs for money and checkers are played with bottle caps at the side of shops, I wish the film had embraced the absurdities alongside its grounded, drama based reality. It did evoke the type of world cinema I grew up with in the 2000s and gained a lifelong fan, because it could show the locations of countries around the world in full, realistic detail but could have the unpredictable in plot and content. Instead, Air Conditioner is portentous to a detriment, which is worse as already you did not need that layer at all. The world, in its natural portrayal even with strange plot mechanisations, is grounded enough as it is to take in. With characters like Zézinha really standing out as a no-nonsense woman who likes Matacedo, who in himself is an older man on the cusp of having to consider his life and what is of worth within it, these are characters who we could have invested in if more was provided. But neither actor gets a lot to work with, and Air Conditioner never moves to a further area or message of interest. It is such a shame as I was excited by this film immensely.

Abstract Spectrum: Eccentric/Moody

Abstract Rating (High/Medium/Low/None): None