Gala del Sol transforms purgatory into a nightclub where identity and faith collide
Heaven and hell, life and death, sinners and saints: They all meet at the colorful titular venue Gala del Sol’s wild first feature. It’s story, free-floating between fantasy, fairy tale and realist drama, is a daring multi-character, multi-narrative vision of redemption and rebirth. If this sounds suspiciously religious, then because it is, though not in any conventional way. The Spanish-Colombian filmmaker – who according to her own words once wanted to become a nun – uses faith and Christian iconography both as a visual token and narrative tool. Rooted in Latin American spirituality, her magical-realist lens reimagines Catholic concepts in a queer context.
Epicenter of this queerness is the nightclub “Babel”. The bar is located in an otherworldly version of the mythical Mayan city of Cali. Dingy on the outside, glamorous behind the closed doors. Those who enter this purgatorial realm are in the world of La Flaca (Saray Rebolledo). The fearsome godmother of this place that bridges life and death is a sparkling impersonation of the Grim Reaper. If lost souls wander into her place of decadence and temptations, their games aren’t about worldly goods but years of life – or even eternal damnation. The various characters whose paths cross here are figures with fittingly grandios names and backstories.
Dante (Felipe Aguilar Rodríguez), bound to La Flaca by a hellish contract and haunted by scattered memories of his mortal existence. Spectral Monet (Johan Zapata) seeks a fresh body as his corpse is decaying. Jacob (William Hurtado) is the son of a strict pastor who longs to express himself as drag artist. And then there are the star-crossed lovers, Uma (Celina Biurrun) and Timbi (Jose Mojica), who hope to rescue Timbi’s mortally ill father by gambling with death. Not to forget a clairvoyant lizard named Rosa. With the exception of the animal, all their stories share themes of shifting identities and a search for new life, literally or through self-fulfillment.
A Mephistophelean Barkeeper provides some much needed guidance through the tangled plot. Keeping track of the large ensemble and their intertwined storylines is not easy. At times, even director-writer-editor del Sol seems to loose her way in the narrative maze. The latter mirrors the multi-faceted structure combining mythical and spiritual elements with mundane drama. With the hyperbolic events and feverish set-design, it’s easy to miss that the action takes place in one single night. Drag, neon light, esoteric symbolism, and melodramatic make-up create an intoxicating cocktail of modern and ancient tropes. The opposition of free will and fate serves as the story’s prime momentum.
The true enemy of all these characters is not La Flaca or even Jacob’s fanatic father, but religious guilt and internalized bias. Babel’s visual world pulsates with garish light, punk beats, glittering costumes, and vintage accents. Old and modern can clash, but more often they merge or exist side by side, underlining the main message of acceptance. This carnival of creativity can get exhaustive or tumble into banality. But del Sol’s intentions feel always genuine, and there is enough spark to keep the feast at Babel going.
- OT: Llueve sobre Babel
- Director: Gala del Sol
- Year: 2025
