Directed by Aracely Méndez, The Sky is Very Pretty documents the journey of one woman’s flight from home with her family with the intent of keeping her daughter safe. Fleeing Columbia and finding a new home in Mexico, the family attempts to make sense of their new surroundings while dreaming of their life at home.
In Very Pretty, Mendez highlights the dichotomy between the minds of parents and children. On the one hand, we hear from the young daughter about their experiences with a lens of innocence and confusion. To her, her mother simply decided to leave and start a new life elsewhere. Home has meaning for this young girl and, while she’s happy to be with her mother, she also carries a certain sense of loss for abandoning their home. However, on the other hand, Mendez allows the disenfranchised mother the opportunity to speak. In doing so, we hear the truth about their departure: this young girl was beginning to be harassed by older men who were making terrifying threats.
For the daughter, the move is a moment of sadness. For her mother, it’s a moment of necessity.
The notion of preserving the child safety is prevalent within Very Pretty. Bathing her subjects in shadows and off-kilter camera work, Mendez ensures that this family is never fully seen onscreen. We are never meant to know their identities. At first, this makes sense as we realize that she wishes to ensure their anonymity. However, it’s also worth noting that Mendez seems to do so to remind us that their story is one of many. Through her final onscreen text, we recognize that countless others have fled to Mexico in an effort of finding solace.
Like this mother and daughter, it’s simply a matter of safety.
The Sky is Very Pretty is playing at ImagineNATIVE ’23. For more information, click here.
