REVIEW: ‘Cielo’
Photo: Alison McAlpine’s Cielo looks at the sky above the Atacama Desert in Chile. Photo courtesy of Juno Films, Inc. / Provided by Film Forum press website with permission.
Cielo, Alison McAlpine’s thoughtful and unique look at the skies above the Atacama Desert in Chile, has almost a dreamlike quality. Its images, especially the time-lapse photography, depict these nighttime skies in such a simple, yet transfixing manner, enveloping the viewer in an all-out appreciation for the natural world and the endlessness of space.
Cielo recently played the Film Forum in New York City, and one can see that a theatrical viewing of the documentary is necessary. These ghostly images of the skies deserve to be seen on a large screen with crisp colors and perfect lighting. Much like viewing the actual nighttime sky, the elements and conditions need to be just right to appreciate McAlpine’s work.
Interspersed throughout the videographry of Atacama are interviews with astronomers who look toward the skies as a profession and personal passion, and the locals who eek out a living in communities that are rough around the edges, but full of life and friendship.
The interviews are interesting, but they have a difficult time competing with those breathtaking images of the sky. However, perhaps that’s the point. Everyday existence lives side by side with some of the most beautiful images this world can produce. Isn’t it telling that the richer metropolitan areas are unable to see this beauty because of the pollution and technology that has led to their richness. On the other hand, these folks at the other end of the economic spectrum don’t have much in terms of material wealth, but they sleep beneath majesty on a nightly basis.
Cielo is not a science film, per say, because the astronomers don’t delve deep into the calculations and observations they conduct. Instead, they look at McAlpine’s camera and open up about what inspired them to look upward in the first place.
Even though Cielo is not a science film, there’s something to rally behind when a documentary beautifully displays images that are often missing from the lives of everyday people in the world. There is beauty out there (and up there), and McAlpine has found a select number of people who get to soak it in every night.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Cielo (2018), written and directed by Alison McAlpine, recently played New York City’s Film Forum. Click here for Hollywood Soapbox’s interview with McAlpine. Running time: 78 minutes. Rating: 
