''La Maleta'' ( en, The Suitcase) is a 1963 Chilean experimental drama

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

written and directed by Raúl Ruiz based on the Chilean play of the same name that originally premiered at the Petit Rex Theater in 1962 by theater director

Víctor Jara Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez (; 28 September 1932 – 16 September 1973) was a Chilean teacher, theater director, poet, singer-songwriter and Communist political activist. He developed Chilean theater by directing a broad array of works, rang ...

. It was Ruiz's first film as a director and was produced, repurposed and distributed through the Experimental Cinema program of the

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

Plot

The story revolves around a man who is traveling with a large suitcase on his back. Inside the suitcase, a smaller man is discovered who shares similar physical traits with the owner of the suitcase. As a result, the owner becomes physically exhausted from carrying the heavy suitcase, but the man inside helps relieve him of the burden.

Cast

* Gastón Duvauchelle * Héctor Duvauchelle * Orieta Escámez * Gonzalo Palta

Production

The short was shot on 16mm film, and was intended by Ruiz to be a full-feature film with the help of fellow filmmaker Sergio Bravo. With Bravo backing out of the project and merely giving him 20 rolls of reversible 16mm film, Ruiz ran into much difficulty on producing the entire feature, and settled on a 20 minute short. Considered to be an unfinished short, the film was presumably lost for decades until in 2007 it was re-discovered within the University of Chile under the false category of "French film." The film was later re-edited through the permission of the university by

Inti Briones Inti Briones Arredondo (born in 1971 in Peru) is a cinematographer, film producer. He is known for his work in various media formats, media digital video and motion picture film. In 2013, he was named as one of Variety Magazine's "10 Cinematograph ...

, and music was added by

Jorge Arriagada Jorge Arriagada (born 1943) is a Chilean film composer. He is perhaps best known for his long-term collaboration with director Raúl Ruiz (director), Raúl Ruiz. He has also worked with directors Patricio Guzman, Barbet Schroeder and Olivier Assay ...

and officially premiered exclusively at the 2008 Valdivia Film Festival nearly 45 years after its initial production date. The film is now being preserved in the Cineteca of the University of Chile.

Critical reception

Becoming a "diamond in the rough" after Ruiz's status as a film

auteur An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique ...

was established, the film received positive reviews upon its release in 2008. In an article discussing Ruiz's many works, an online website called ''The Worldwide Celluloid Massacre'' labeled the film a "unique surreal and symbolic idea," as well as suggesting that the smaller man is a reflection of "possessions possess nghim as they take on a life of their own," putting the film in the category of "Of Some Interest."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maleta, La 1963 films 1963 short films 1963 directorial debut films 1960s Spanish-language films Films directed by Raúl Ruiz Chilean short films