BEYOND OBLIVION © Argentina Sono Film
Más allá del olvido (Beyond Oblivion): Hugo del Carril’s restored masterpiece
Más allá del olvido (Beyond Oblivion) (1955), by Argentina’s Hugo del Carril, is often compared to Vertigo (1958), and was based on the novel, Bruges-la-Morte (1892), by Georges Rodenbach. It tells the story of a man in love who tries to bring his dead lover back to life. This film is presented at Cannes Classics, with commentary by Fernando Madedo, who coordinated the restoration.
Who was Hugo del Carril?
Hugo del Carril’s career was remarkably diverse. He achieved success as a singer, actor, director, and producer. He got his start as a tango singer, which helped him break into film. He quickly became one of the biggest stars in his country, with international reach, especially in Mexico. His first film as a director was Historia del 900 (A Story of the Nineties) (1949). In 1952, he shot Las aguas bajan turbias (Dark River), which clearly illustrates one of the central themes of his cinema — social drama. He then went on to consolidate his career as a filmmaker with Más allá del olvido (Beyond Oblivion) (1956), which encapsulates another of his core themes: romantic love.
How did the film come about?
Más allá del olvido (Beyond Oblivion) came out in June 1956, but filming started in August 1955. In September, there was a military coup against the President, Juan Domingo Perón, in Argentina. Hugo del Carril was imprisoned, then released, and he completed filming in December of the same year. The official charge against him was film smuggling, although it was clear that the actual reason was his support for Peronism. His voice, immortalized in his rendition of the Justicialist Party march Los muchachos peronistas, made him a symbol of the movement.
Nonetheless, Del Carril’s life was not an easy one under the Peronist government. His animosity toward the head of the regime’s propaganda machine, who accused him of being a communist and hampered his career, is well known. When Perón returned in the 1970s, Del Carril was appointed head of the National Institute of Cinematography. He then became involved in drafting a new law on cinema, which was never adopted by the Parliament. He resigned shortly afterwards.
Why is this film considered to be one of the most important in the history of Argentine cinema?
Más allá del olvido (Beyond Oblivion) is a film that has received much praise for its aesthetic maturity. Del Carril is distinguished by his polished direction, his expressive use of light, his camera movements, and the composition of his shots. He powerfully expresses a cultural matrix with deep roots in Latin America: melodrama, here in its Gothic form.
The narrative and expressive use of light emphasizes the thematic and aesthetic elements of the work: the duality between life and death, light and dark, past and present. The film also explores representation itself, using visual techniques such as door frames that reframe the action, mirrors, and camera angles that place the viewer in the position of Blanca (Laura Hidalgo), who is depicted in a painting in an elaborate, stylized staging.