A short film inspired by both the plight of a nation and the personal story of how his mother nursed his cousin, Gustavo Milan’s Oscar-shortlisted drama Seiva Bruta (Under the Heavens) leans heavily on immersion and authenticity to tell its story of an immigrating mother. Instantly enveloping its audience in its gritty tale, there’s barely time for backstory as we follow Marta on a journey littered with risks, as she travels to São Paulo in search of work.
As we witness her attempts at hitchhiking fail miserably, the intrigue surrounding Milan’s protagonist is instantly elevated after just 90-seconds when we realise a shot of liquid hitting the dirt floor isn’t signalling the onset of rain but is in fact breastmilk. Questions surrounding the whereabouts of her baby are raised (and answered, very briefly, later in the film), but we get the impression her story isn’t a happy one.
Minutes later, as Marta is able to soothe a couple’s inconsolable infant with her own milk, we get our first glimpses of tenderness from Under the Heavens’ lead character, but these moments of kindness are few and far between in Milan’s 17-minute short. As she becomes entwined in the lives of baby Roraima and her parents, Marta finds her difficult voyage is complicated by this new connection and her life endangered by these new companions.
With its focus on character and narrative, Under the Heavens isn’t exactly breaking new ground in terms of its filmmaking, but it uses its immersive production to really highlight the importance of its storytelling and the message of its piece. “My greatest hope with this movie was to somehow bring awareness about what’s going on in Venezuela and in Brazil”, Milan explains in an interview with Sukhpreet Kahlon for Cinestaan. Before adding that he also aimed to “initiate some kind of conversation about immigration, about the human condition through the point of view of an immigrant”, with his short.
Shot on 16mm and cut in a patient, confident fashion, Under the Heavens is an assured piece of filmmaking, especially when you consider Milan’s directorial credits aren’t exactly extensive. With his intimate approach expertly complimented by Ariel Marx’s minimalist score, the film’s unobtrusive production feels the perfect balance to the short’s powerful, but restrained storyline. It all combines to create an engaging, insightful watch, but as is often the case with these character-driven films, a lot of the success rests on the performance of its cast and they deserve huge credit for making the film feel so authentic, especially Samantha Castillo, whose performance as Marta is as good as you’ll see in any short.
After a decent festival run, which included winning the Best Short Film award in the International Competition at 2021 edition of Short Shorts, Under the Heavens was included on the 15-title shortlist for the Best Live Action Short Film at the 2022 Academy Awards. With the film being made under some difficult circumstances – Milan lost funding during production when a change in Brazil’s government resulted in money promised to cinema being frozen – it’s a real testament to the director and his crew that they made such a promising piece. The director’s latest film, Unfamiliar Skin (Ruído da Pele), has been playing festivals throughout 2024.