In 2003, the Mexican filmmaker Francisco Athié directed a phantasmagorical film: VERA. A miner accidentally causes a landslide while working alone in a deep, isolated tunnel. Cut off from humanity and knowing he is condemned, this minor experiences during the last moments of his life a series of transformations, rites of passages and spectacular awakenings confronting him with different transcendent symbols.
Like Joseph Campbell, Francisco Athié seems to know the myths and legends of the world; they are staged through the symbolism and initiations experienced by the minor, giving a universal dimension to this film. It underlines the faith and confidence necessary to move forward on one’s life path and accept and perceive another intangible world.
Everyone interprets the reality of their death in a unique way, the VERA miner experiences it fully and suddenly. VERA means faith and trust in Cyrillic, and truth in Italian. He therefore guides us through faith and trust towards the path leading us to the other world, hence also his feminine name. It’s a poetic visual guide trying to prepare us for this inevitable confrontation.
Here is the trailer: