In the echoing, dimly lit interior of an abandoned ship, men wander in search of usable parts. The workers at this ship graveyard in Cuba dismantle the scrapped ships and salvage whatever they can.
The men hack and grind away under the blazing sun in this no-man’s-land, surrounded by huge sheets of creaking steel, dreaming of escape. The young man Pitufo is one of them. Late at night, wandering through one of the ships by flashlight, the men tell each other stories. One day, Pitufo decides to take the risk: he sets off in a small boat in search of what he hopes will be a better life.
Through the eyes of director and cinematographer Alejandro Alonso, Pitufo’s workplace is transformed into an apocalyptic landscape of fire, water, steel, and smoke. Pitufo’s attempt to escape becomes an almost-magical heroic journey, thanks to Alonso’s eye for detail and atmosphere. A bleak life lived in near-darkness has rarely looked so captivating.
Stills
