Inertia (All Pantographs Go to Heaven)

A light, experimental ode to the Cuban Hershey train and its passengers. We follow the electric slow train from the switchyard, where the various mechanisms of the train are put into motion, to the unknown final destination, where the passengers slowly disappear toward the horizon as if they were heroes from a western. The various stages of the journey are impressionistically captured in a collage of images. While waiting for the train, extreme close-ups come in quick succession: a fly on a tabletop, cigarette butts extinguished on a cement floor, fans rotating on the ceiling. Then we get an extensive variety of shoes that manoeuvre their way into the train. In the tottering train compartment, we're treated to chaotic handheld shots of the passengers: people look out the window, converse and kiss. A disturbance arises and gets quieted down, and then some musicians climb onboard and incite the sporadic tourists to dance awkwardly. On the soundtrack, we hear snippets of the passengers' conversations briefly pass by. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)