Unmade Beds

Axl (Fernando Tielve), a 20-year-old boy from Spain, has landed in London to find the father he never knew. He has slept on 20 beds and couches, waking up after evenings of drink not remembering who he was with or how he got there. It’s bed 21 that gets him to the place he can call home, a London squat alive with music, art, and a constant flow of young, interesting people. Vera (Déborah François) also lives there and represents a parallel quest for identity. She’s a quiet but confused girl who works in a bookstore, causing chaos by putting random books on shelves to create the “element of surprise” for potential buyers. Vera’s friend Mike (Iddo Goldberg) is one of the movers and shakers at the squat, drives a motorcycle, and dreams of finally parachute -jumping from an airplane. One night Vera, lonely and drinking, meets “X-Ray Man” (Michael Huisman), and they begin an anonymous courtship, revealing almost nothing about each other except for lies that each of them works for an airline, he as the X-Ray guy, she as a stewardess. Meanwhile, Axl’s search for his dad leads him to a middle-class realtor who shows him a string of apartments as the boy struggles with himself to reveal his true identity.

The most remarkable thing about Unmade Beds, the second film by Brazilian director Alexis Dos Santos, is the way this story is brought to life through confident and realistic acting; a totally authentic mise-en-scene of squats, bars, and London street scenes; accomplished cinematography; and an exciting and “just right’ sense of being part of an up-to-the-minute slice of life in musical bohemian London. Unmade Beds is completely in tune with its characters and story--it feels intuitive, not constructed. Vera and Axl wander through each other’s lives, looking for small answers about the big questions of love, friendship, and family--extended or real. Although they are technically homeless, the squatter life brings them a sense of community and support in a world of discovery that is complex but seldom dark or threatening. In a scene suggestive of a modern Jules and Jim, for instance, Axl, Vera, and Mike find themselves in a triad of emotional and physical connection saturated with music, dance, fluid hand-held camera, and finally sex.

The soundtrack and live performances are artfully integrated into the story. The performances, the locations, and the wardrobe (there is a great “furry” scene with characters dressed as animals for the shoot of a music video) feel real and natural. Unmade Beds is a satisfying film that benefits greatly from the personal experiences of Dos Santos, the director/writer, and his ability to translate his vision to the screen.

                                    Thomas W. Campbell