Aloft

Aloft may have arisen from some unique personal mythology of maternalism, but it's brought down by abridgment, freezing out the feeling of whatever tragic pietà its maker may intend.

The characters feel like sketches, and the pace never deviates from its steady course.

While Iñárritu's work usually boasts some compensatory visual delight, this film drifts on its twenty-year timeline in a sepia-toned, handheld series of close-ups that look less gritty than just plain bad.

Aloft can sometimes be too slow-paced and enigmatic for its own good, the presence of these two actors helps to elevate Llosa's film to a higher level of cinematic prowess.

Aloft keeps us at a distance -- a problem for a film about spirituality that gives little critique or insight into the mythical healing process it is about.