Today, time seems to fly by in a dazzling haze. There’s so much going on around us and life moves as such a fast pace that it’s easy to forget to stop and breathe every now and then. The modern workplace can be a high pressured and stressful environment. Some people chose to leave the city, drop out of the rat race, and get away from it all. This is the case for one of the protagonists in Nuria Ibañez’s charming new documentary A Wild Stream.
Omar and Chilo live on a solitary beach in Baja California, Mexico. The pair are all alone with just the sand and water for company. Omar quit his unfulfilling office job in favour of an escape to solitude. After a traumatising split from his family, Chilo is trying to piece his life back together, one day at a time. The men fish to eat and spend their nights talking around a campfire. A close attachment slowly builds up between these lost souls as their friendship blossoms.
A Wild Stream is a beautiful, gentle and tender film about a burgeoning relationship between two men. After gaining their trust before shooting, Ibañez ensures that her camera never strays far from either of the men. This ensures that a sense of brotherhood and isolation comes to the fore, whilst a strong bond forms between the pair. It’s a delightfully intimate and beautifully realised portrait of male companionship.
A Wild Stream screens at Sheffield Doc/Fest on 9 and 11 June.
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