Customer Reviews

Optical Fibre (Fibra Optica)

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There are many goods things about this movie, but unfortunately, there are just a many confusing aspects that results in a strange movie experience. You end up feeling like, I think I liked it, but I'm not sure about this or that that happened. First of all, wait until the price comes down, unless you just have to have it. The movie begins with a droning soundtrack that is interesting but irritating after about five seconds. When it goes on for minutes you feel like you could welcome the screeching sound of fingernails scaping something metallic. While this annoying but interesting effect is happening the screen displays telegraph poles and wires in a surrealistic manner, with the camera going in reverse at times, instead of panning and it general creating a disturbing visual auditory experience. You begin to feel if the whole movie is like this I'm outta here. Anyway, the visual and auditory trip ends and the plot begins. A woman is set up to appear to have murdered her lover under some murky circumstances. So it becomes a stylistic who-dunit. As the movie plot rolls slowly along, enter budding young journalist, played by Roberto Sosa( also in the outstanding 2002 "Ciudades Oscuras") who is enlisted to find out who committed the crime against the union politician. The journalist embarks on his quest and in the process manages to bed the daughter of a high ranking union boss. Did I mention his girlfriend is also helping him? She also gets into her share of trouble in the process. There are the minimum number of characters involved in this movie but bad guy executive Roberto Estrella (Hollywood English translation Robert Star) does more than a credible job of convincing the audience of his malicious intent. This guy is the perrenial bad guy and currently lends his talents to the popular Mexican novela "Entre El Amor Y El Odio."The plot is ok but the movie is just too confusing with it's unexplained twists and turns. Besides, the visual images are much more interesting. Afterwards I thought maybe I missed some things because I was so caught up in the effects. To the movies credit it is an excepional bit of artsy but a bit too smartsy for some cinematography. Some of the effects are quite dazzling and innovative and really dominate the movie. The credit can be given to Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto who was honing his skills for some of his work later like the visually dazzling "Frida" and the American rapper Eminens "8 mile." Visually it is the type of movie to be seen again and again, especially if you are studying film. If you like bizarre artsy camera angles and effects you'll love this surrealistic movie; otherwise you might want to stay away. Recommended for the those that want to see something different, no pun intended.

This movie is from Francisco Athié, who also directed "Lolo", where I think he did a better job.
Because "Fibra Optica" is strange, between experimental and art film, but even when I am getting tired of seeing the same faces over and over in almost every single mexican movie or foreign movies shot in México (Roberto Sosa, Angelica Aragon, Pedro Armendariz Jr), I got distracted by the plot and thought this was somewhat original and interesting...
I still stand Lumi, and her role here is a very nice one. I felt like I was in there, right in the middle of the killings, and then seeing how we uncover a huge net of corruption and lies.
Athié proves that to make movies with a different ''feeling'' you just have to feel like doing them. Regardless of the budget. Where there's a will, there's a way...

I find this movie a big disappointment, esp. after seeing Lumi in "Like Water for Chocolate", I thought this would be a good one too. I've seen dozens of Spanish-speaking movies and were quite impressed with most of them so far. I've enjoyed "All About My Mother", "Open Your Eyes - Obre Los Ojos", "Like Water for Chocolate", "Jamon Jamon", "Y Tu Mama Tambien", "Nine Queen" and a few others.

However, I find this movie to be quite boring and predictable in the plot. I correctly guessed the person behind the murder in the early part of the movie. Then I have to endure all the stupid story to confirm my prediction. There are no profound messages that audience can learn. Overall, I've wasted about 1 hr 45 min on a boring movie.