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CARLA'S SONG Send This Review to a Friend
Director Ken Loach, previously hailed for such films as "Ladybird Ladybird" and "Land and Freedom," likes to make films that are intensely personal and strongly political. CARLA'S SONG fits both definitions, beginning with the romance between a bus driver in Glasgow, Scotland, and a woman from Nicaragua, then shifting to Nicaragua during the bitter 1987 fighting between the Sandinistas and the American- backed contras.
Robert Carlyle, so superb as the father trying to cement relations with his son in "The Full Monty," plays a happy-go-lucky, rebellious bus driver who gets involved with Carla, a beautiful, mysterious woman scarred by past events. Carlyle is not a handsome hunk, but a decent looking fellow who fills the screen with energy and personality. He is increasingly sought after by producers and is particularly effective here. Oyanka Cabezas, a dancer, turns out to be a thoroughly convincing and appealing actress under Loach's direction.
Whether filming scenes of intimacy or battle, Loach is masterly and once again succeeds in his mix of experienced actors and non-professional folk. Scott Glenn has an important role as a disillusioned C.I.A. agent whose dialogue has to convey a key portion of the film's anti-Contra and anti-war message. An abundance of local atmosphere contrasting life in Glasgow with the utter poverty in Nicaragua and the infectious music track helps "Carla's Song" tell a powerful story of love and commitment while it tears at one's conscience by turning a spotlight on inhumanity and individual responsibility.
Just as there are subtitles when Spanish is spoken , the film could also use subtitles at moments when the Scottish accent is particularly thick. But even if one misses some dialogue here and there, the emotionally powerful ingredients have impact to spare. A Shadow Distribution release.
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