Futher beyond

It all begins with the project of a filmic portrait of Ambrose O’Higgins, an eight- eenth-century Irishman, a figure of utmost importance, father of Bernardo O’Higgins, the first leader of independent Chile. This biopic seems to trace back the steps of his very special journey from Ireland to Chile. As it develops, however, another film replaces this trajectory with a reflection, first, on what spotting and choice of the shooting site involve; then, given the subtle changes the film goes through as one story ties in to another, by raising questions about immigration on the basis of a 1937 newspaper clip narrating the adventure of an 11-month infant travelling alone by boat from New York towards Ireland. What Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor are urging us to do here, through the voices of two narrators set in the studio with ever-distancing humor, is to return to the singu- larity of Irish experience as it relates to the powers of metamorphosis a journey can offer. (JPR)