The Pink Cloud (2021)
- Reviewed from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
“This film was written in 2017 and shot in 2019. Any resemblance to actual events is purely coincidental.” So say the opening titles of The Pink Cloud, a lockdown drama with eerie similarities to the real world happenings of the last 12 months – the titular meteorological phenomenon, which proves deadly within 10 seconds of exposure, forces everyone to immediately shelter in place.
Two of the afflicted are Giovana and Yago, whose relationship grows and subsequently turns sour under the strains of constant cohabitation. Humour that was presumably intended as absurdist upon conception ends up being bittersweet in its relatability. It is to the filmmakers’ credit that a film so acutely, painfully relevant manages to be so watchable; as the leads go through episodes of romance, boredom, and depression they gaze longingly at the rose-hued sky, wondering when life will go back to normal. So do we.