Jonah and the Pink Whale

Running time: N/A

According to biblical lore, the Hebrew prophet Jonah was cast overboard and swallowed by a big fish. Director Juan Carlos Valdivia's character Jonah, in his film JONAH AND THE PINK WHALE, finds himself in a similar predicament. Jonah's "predator," however, is not a big fish, but his wife's family and his beautiful, sensuous sister-in-law Julia, who desire him to be everything that he is not. To escape his pressures, Jonah retreats into his own world as a photographer, and builds a darkroom in the basement of his in-laws' big, rambling house. In steps flirtatious Julia, who seems to be the only one of the family who can even begin to understand Jonah. Flirtation quickly turns to passion between the two and immediately develops into an intense love affair. Suddenly, Jonah's life sinks into the "belly of the whale," as he and Julia try to keep their sexual encounters a secret while his in-laws attempt to mold him into the image they desire him to be. To escape his pressures, Jonah retreats into his own world as a Displayed with incredibly beautiful, sensuous and haunting photography by Henner Hofmann, the film is set against the backdrop of anarchic Bolivia in a time when drug trade and urban chaos were at their highest. Valdivia based his screenplay on Bolivian writer Wolfango Montes' popular novel of the same title. To escape his pressures, Jonah retreats into his own world as a JONAH AND THE PINK WHALE marks an impressive directorial debut for Valdivia, and reveals the earmarks of a director who understands the complexity and diversity of human emotions, and shows a maturity which far surpasses most directors of today. --Mike Rabehl