In the city of Sylvia. Guerín and the reverse shots of spectrality

Abstract

Taking the use and meaning of looks and reverse angles in modern cinema, this article will unravel all the elements forming the particular narration of In the city of Sylvia (En la ciudad de Sylvia, José Luis Guerín, 2007). This film makes use of silence, reflections, introspection and the personal vision of the protagonist in order to communicate to the viewer the biased and changing image—at first labyrinthine and then ordinary and stuck—of a nameless city, as well as the obsession over a woman who represents the ideal, the sole reason for hope. Uncertainty and emptiness are constant, with the only exception being the moment when the main character chooses to finally address his object of desire and perspective changes.