The Runway:
Film Review
Demian Bichir
delivers a soulful turn as a Colombian pilot stranded in a remote Irish village
in Ian Power's comedy.
If you ever
find yourself in trouble it’s probably best to make your way to a remote Irish
village, where the quirky residents are bound to be all too happy to help you
in your plight. This narrative staple of Irish films reappears yet again in The
Runway, director/screenwriter Ian Power’s mild but likeable début feature
starring Demian Bichir. Opening in Arizona for a limited release, the film
could well score on VOD and cable thanks to its Oscar nominated (A Better Life)
leading man’s newly high profile.
Apparently inspired
by a true-life incident, the film, which reveals no small influence by E.T.,
concerns a Columbian pilot, Ernesto, whose plane crash lands in the small
village of Drumalee in County Cork. Speaking not a word of English, Ernesto
finds a chief ally in nine-year-old Paco (Jamie Kierans), the only resident who
speaks any Spanish. It seems that the lad has learned the language in the hope
of someday reconnecting with his long-absent father, who according to his
mother Grace (Kerry Condon) is a Spaniard.
Providing
exactly the sort of mistranslation designed to encourage the townspeople to
come to aid of the otherwise shady pilot, Paco quickly begins looking at his
new friend as a father figure, with Ernesto helping things along by taking a
romantic interest in his comely mother. Meanwhile, prodded by a no-nonsense
local engineer (an entertaining James Cosmo), the villagers set about trying to
help Ernesto repair his plane and construct a make-shift runway from which he
can take flight.
The formulaic
but amusing goings-on, which include the late arrival of a fellow Columbian on
Ernesto’s tail (played by Bichir’s brother Bruno), are thankfully elevated by
the central performances. Young Kierans is effortlessly natural in his film début; Kondon is charming as the wary but lonely single mom, and Bichir uses
his smouldering good looks and natural charisma to excellent effect. The
talented Mexican actor, so effective as the villainous crime boss in Weeds,
displays the sort of soulful presence that renders the improbable plotline
reasonably believable.
Opens July 20
(Tribeca Film)
The Runway Official Trailer 2012
Source: YouTube
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