The Life of Fish

Andrés is 33 and has been living for 10 years in Berlin, where he works as a travel writer. When he returns to his native Chile on holiday, at a friend’s birthday party he rediscovers the world he left behind, including his old love, Beatriz.

“My idea was to tell the story as simply as possible and follow Andrés through his process. I wanted to tell the story in an emotional way, using the camera to penetrate deeply into the characters. The dialogue is very important in this film, but in some cases, what is not said – the silences and looks – are even more important.” –Matías Bize

After the multiple award-winning films In Bed and About Crying, Matías Bize returns to intimate spaces and delineated time (such as in Saturday, 2003) to deliver a timeless and place-less story. In this journey into the past that is The Life of Fish, the protagonist takes us by the hand with exquisite melancholy, for an impossible and painful encounter with a time that was and one that will never be. Using few elements, a sober mise-en-scène, genuine and well-written dialogue, and performances teeming with truth, the director moves us, transferring to us the discomfort of those who feel out of place in their own city and skin. –Elena Manrique, Venice Days