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THE MOLE AGENT
Director: Maite Alberdi MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:24 Release Date: 9/1/20 (digital & on-demand) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | August 31, 2020 The Mole Agent begins as a joke, following an elderly man as he attempts to infiltrate a retirement home as a spy for a private investigator, but director Maite Alberdi's documentary refuses to stop there. The man may not be the most competent spy, but his case is a serious one: looking into possible abuse by the facility's staff. Even if those suspicions are incorrect, the spy's discoveries about life in this place are worthy of some further investigation—and a lot of introspection as to how society treats its elderly and infirmed. It's nothing we haven't known or feared, but the compassionate presence of Sergio Chamy, the octogenarian widower who's hired by P.I. Rómulo Aitken (Until the credits, the film only gives us and uses first names), stands in stark contrast to the atmosphere of the home. It's a place defined by dull routines and often unspoken but obvious loneliness. Sergio, provided a smartphone (in order to communicate with the detective) and some hidden cameras (one in a pen and another in a pair of glasses), is tasked to find and observe one resident, the mother of the client who hired Rómulo. Technology isn't Serio's strong suit. Spying isn't, either, as it turns out, and his rambling reports of the day-to-day goings-on at the retirement home lead to a long-delayed but perfectly timed reaction shot of the private investigator, rubbing his temples as his patience wears thin with his spy's unrelated stories. The unrelated stories, though, become the focus of Alberdi's film (She has also infiltrated the facility with a camera crew, pretending to document the home's newest resident). It becomes clear that Sergio's target is being treated as well as can be expected early on, and while the spy constantly bungles his investigation (writing down notes for everyone to see, basically stalking his target until even she becomes uncomfortable, accosting a staff member to get some answers), he makes several friends along the way. He's also a hit with the ladies, who adore his gentlemanly demeanor and ways. Those people, living in this place for years or decades with almost no contact from their families while suffering from various physical and mental ailments, become the sad and broken heart of The Mole Agent. Sergio may be a terrible spy, but he is a loving and loveable human being, whose empathy for his new friends is infectious. Copyright © 2020 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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