The Story of a Satellite, which screens as part of the Chicago Underground Film Festival, is a lighthearted comedy about dark, heavy themes, and this friction between form and content keeps the film compelling despite its frequent preciousness. Spanish writer-directors Miriam and Sonia Albert-Sobrino, who credit themselves as “the Also Sisters,” address the subjects of death, freak accidents, and deadbeat parents while trading in deadpan visual humor and quirky characterizations. The latter elements are so prominent, in fact, that you may not realize how sad the movie is until after it ends, though the melancholy aspect of Satellite isn’t entirely hidden from view: critical scenes take place in a cemetery, and the main character lives in constant fear of death. As in certain films by Pedro Almodovar (whom the sisters cite as an influence), humor seems like a coping mechanism in the face of material that might be too difficult to approach seriously.
What follows is an extended shaggy-dog narrative in which Rafael and Melito explore the nearby countryside. The directors never explain why the characters limit their quest to such a small area, but this constricted search reinforces the notion that Rafael and Melito are little more than children adrift in an adult world. The journey does yield some surprises, however. In one sequence the characters stumble upon two Italian soldiers lost in the woods who believe that World War II has just ended. In fact the directors never reveal exactly when Satellite takes place; it seems to be set in the present, yet the characters use no 21st-century technology and the news reports they hear on the radio relate various events from the last 50 years. However mannered this aspect of Satellite may be, its melancholy deepens as the film lingers in the memory—as though Rafael’s trauma is so profound that it leaves him lost in time.
In Spanish with subtitles. 74 min.
