TOO LATE TO DIE YOUNG: Hovering On The Cusp Of Change

The third feature film from celebrated Chilean filmmaker Dominga Sotomayor (Thursday Till Sunday, Mar), Too Late to Die Young takes the universal coming-of-age story and moves it to a unique locale: an isolated rural community outside of Santiago shortly after the end of the Pinochet dictatorship in 1990. As their parents embrace their newfound freedom by attempting to build a new society based on their ideals, the children deal with more personal but no less momentous events, including first love.

Loosely based on Sotomayor’s own upbringing and anchored by a magnetic lead performance, the film, which won Sotomayor Best Director at the 2018 Locarno International Film Festival, is a thing of delicate but no less powerful beauty.

Strangers in Paradise

It’s a hot, dry summer in Chile – so hot that ensuring a necessary supply of fresh water remains a constant concern to this small community at the base of the Andes. Restless, enigmatic 16-year-old Sofia (Demian Hernández, who has since transitioned and identifies as a transgender man) has been brought to live here by her father, but hopes that when her mother comes to the big New Year’s Eve party planned by the commune, she’ll be able to leave with her and move to the city. (That is, of course, if her notoriously mercurial mother even shows up.)

In the meantime, Sofia spends her days compulsively smoking, fighting with her father and flirting with an older stranger on a motorcycle who represents another way out of this small world. Her friend Lucas (Antar Machado) sends longing gazes in her direction but finds himself increasingly ignored, taking a backseat to this mysterious new man in Sofia’s life. Meanwhile, a younger girl, Clara (Magdalena Tótoro), struggles to deal with a missing dog and a sick father, while the adults engage in all kinds of adultery and other secret-keeping. There’s also a big talent show to prepare for, as everyone in this arts-focused collective is required to perform a song at the New Year’s Eve party.

Set amidst sun-dappled forests and crisp mountain streams, the community is designed to be a utopia far from the political upheaval wracking the country, but needless to say, nothing is idyllic as it appears on the surface. Even those seemingly pleasant mountain streams have a dark side – a dead horse is stuck in the water, making it unfit for swimming and drinking.

Time After Time

In Too Late to Die Young, Sotomayor tells a story that takes place at a very specific point in history but feels absolutely timeless. With the exception of some of the musical choices, the film doesn’t lean too heavily on historical or cultural references – in fact, it does not even mention Pinochet by name. Unencumbered by the concerns of the rest of the world, the community at the center of Too Late to Die Young feels as though it could exist at any place and any time, filled with characters preoccupied with the kinds of personal issues that have plagued adolescents and adults alike since time immemorial.

The closest thing this ensemble has to a main character, Sofia has an almost elfin, androgynous beauty that is only emphasized by the natural beauty of the Chilean mountainside; she appears just as much a part of the lovely landscape as the stones and trees that surround her. Despite being removed from the outside world, her concerns remain that of your average teen, focused mostly on teenage rebellion and escape by any means necessary.

Armed with a dark, piercing gaze that contains a well of complex emotions, Hernández smokes more than he speaks in the role, yet his performance is never less than compelling. The same goes for Machado as Lucas, whose puppy-eyed devotion to Sofia – and the creeping realization that she wants something more than what he can offer her – is heartbreaking in its emotional honesty.

Cinematographer Inti Briones captures it all in its hazy, almost dreamlike glory, from Sofia’s enchanting accordion-accompanied New Year’s Eve performance to Lucas reacting angrily to an unwanted kiss from another girl. These memories, soaked in sun and sweat, feel almost randomly chosen, but come together to create a rich chronicle of one pivotal summer.

Too Late To Die Young: Conclusion

Much like life itself, Too Late to Die Young is a meandering, seemingly directionless tale but no less enrapturing for it; moments of breathtaking beauty are woven in with the mundane everyday to create a vibrant tapestry of life on the cusp of great change.

What do you think? Does Too Late to Die Young sound relatable despite its unusual setting? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Too Late to Die Young was released in the UK on May 24, 2019, and in the U.S. on May 31, 2019. You can find more international release dates here.