Pendular

There is a reason why lovers should never work together. Too many emotions, too many egos, too much at stake. Visual art and dance come together in this intriguing portrait of a strained relationship to give an insight on art, on love and on swallowing one’s pride. Pendular operates on two planes and presents the main characters, She and He, as essentially two people: lovers and artists. When they choose to live in their shared atelier, the line between their personal and professional lives is very often blurred.

Perhaps one of the most evocative images in the film comes in the first few minutes when She (Raquel Karro) helps He (Rodrigo Bolzan) lay down a line of tape to divide the space into their respective sides. At first the sides are even and their lives are harmonious in all departments. The balance is tipped when He asks for and She concedes some of her space to him. This sets off a chain reaction of competitive digs at one another that ultimately ends in bitterness and resentment in their personal relationship.

What makes Pendular different from other relationship dramas is the careful interweaving of the characters’ art into the soul of the story. Dance becomes a multi-dimensional facet of the feature. When She dances, it is to express herself. As her love affair devolves, the dancing becomes more erratic, more violent, more provocative. The film flows with the same rhythm and expressiveness of a contemporary dance. There is a constant give and take between the two people that is demonstrated both literally when She dances and metaphorically when She and Him fight. Through this fascinating, painful movement, director Júlia Murat grapples with a sort of separation of souls. Once the delicate equilibrium is thrown off, She and Him enter into an artistic tug of war with bruised egos. The war continues until one person is inevitably the victor. Pendular is a raw but graceful example of what it is to be an artist and a lover and both at the same time.

Zoe Tamara

Pendular does not have a UK release date yet.

For further information about the 67^th Berlin Film Festival visit here.

Read more reviews from the festival here.

Watch the trailer for Pendular here: