DIRECTOR: ADRIAN SABA STARRING: GUSTAVO BUENO, GISELA PONCE DE LEON, RODRIGO SANCHEZ PATINO, MICHELE ABASCAL RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 22 MINUTES
Toribio Bardelli is an older man, who together with his three children, now adults, form a dysfunctional and failed family. About to turn 70, Toribio will pursue his only goal in life: to have an erection again.
The Erection of Toribio Bardelli is the International Feature submission for Peru. This dark comedy is about a father, Toribio, and his three children, Luz, Sara and Silvester. Toribio’s wife has just passed away and the remaining members of the family are left trying to figure out the next steps of their lives. The film revolves around each member of this family, their individual pain, their individual struggles, and their search for a better future.
The film opens up with Toribio desperately trying to fulfill his sexual fulfillment, but despite hiring a prostitute, going to the strip club, trying to relieve himself with porno magazines, he has realized that he is impotent. When he is arrested by the police one night, after being caught with an expired license, his children are reunited with him at the station. Slowly, and together, the four lost souls begin to learn more about themselves and to learn how to handle their own personal grief.
For Toribio, his need for sexual relief comes from learning that his wife was unfaithful to him for numerous years. With photos of her found in every room, Toribio is trying to assert control again and to rediscover his masculinity and self-worth. This is part of his healing. For Luz, Sara and Silvester, each one of them is suffering from the loss of their mother and they’re each handling it in different ways. One is drinking heavier. One is making poor decisions at work, while another is mishandling situations. This is their healing process.
When losing a loved one, like a mother and a wife, people begin to question the purpose for living. This kind of contemplation can often lead to a real sense of loneliness and fear. It leads to the inevitability of fearing ones own death. It can be painful and anxiety-provoking. But mourning is part of the natural process in accepting a major loss. Grief is an experience that everyone will go through and therefore it can be a shared experience, with the right support, like it is for the Bardelli family. Despite all of them faltering at the moment, they're all just human beings facing the uncertainties of life.
“The best thing about music is that there is always the next song.” This is the same for life. Every day is a new day, and a new beginning.