DUCK SEASON

OPTIMUM RELEASING

RELEASED 11 March 2005

‘Duck Season’ is a black and white South American feature that see fourteen-year-olds Moko (Diego Cataño) and Flama (Daniel Miranda) have everything they need for the perfect Sunday: ‘Halo’s on the X-Box, there’s plenty of Pepsi, the pizza delivery boy’s on the way, and mum is out for the day. When the pizza delivery guy Ulises (Enrique Arreola) refuses to leave without being paid (as he is technically late for the ‘On Time Or It's Free’ guarantee) and the sixteen-year-old neighbour Rita pops round to bake cakes, it seems Moko and Flama are in for more than they expected.

Fernando Eimbcke directs a cast of newcomers, in this well-observed but drawn-out affair. Issues such as divorce and the trouble with being an adolescent are sensitively handled, but there’s really not enough going on here to hold the attention. Too much mood and not enough story, ‘Duck Season’ would make a better stageplay. Still, it’s an unsual film that has a quirky charm.

TWO OUT OF FIVE