Postcards from Leningrad
Being the daughter of a guerrilla in 1960s Venezuela isn't easy, just ask la Niña, narrator of Postales de Leningrado. Together with her cousin Teo, she copes with her clandestine life of underground secrecy and makes up a new life filled with superhero revolutionaries.
Sponsor:
Alaska Airlines
Cast & Crew
Director: Mariana Rondón
Producer: Marite Ugás
Editor: Marite Ugás
Screenwriter: Mariana Rondón
Cinematographer: Micaela Cajahuaringa
Awards: Official Oscar Submission 2007 (Foreign Language Film)
Music: Felipe Perez Santiago, Camilo Froideval
Principal Cast: Laureano Olivares, Greisy Mena, William Cifuentes
Filmography: At Midnight and a Half (1999)
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POSTCARDS FROM LENINGRAD, May 19, 2008
By Catherine Brown
“In her introduction, director Mariana Rondón thanked the countries of Venezuela and Peru for funding her film, then commented on how POSTCARDS FROM LENINGRAD was a singularly Venezuelan story. In 1960's Caracas, revolutionaries struggle against a political regime. Two children tell stories of growing up with revolutionary parents through a lens of romance and innocence. Rondón wonderfully combines dramatic and comedic narrative storytelling; faux docementary; and comic book style hand-drawn animation over live action to tell this darkly funny, yet serious story of a very volatile time and culture.
At first POSTCARDS FROM LENINGRAD was confusing; Rondón jumps around in time without warning, and the two children narrate their stories as if they were comic book characters. There is none of the political nuance to explain the whys of the conflict. Gradually however, the story becomes clear, peppered with fabulous sequences of the various characters lives. Family scenes around the Venzuelan New Year are lively and telling; especially when Teo, one of narrators' parents, returns home and is subsequently captured by the government and imprisoned. A sequence 2/3 of the way through the film, depicting a group of female, revolutionary, college students committing an act or defiance is perfectly executed in groovy, 60s style, bringing together split screens, animation, music and narration sublimely. Rondón is a talented filmmaker whose work deserves broader exposure. ”
