NG
Upload
Alert icon
Thumbnail

About this movie

Genres:
Drama, LGBT
Language:
English
Running time:
1:40:55
Partner rating:
NO RATING
Released:

Cast & Crew

Cast

  1. Manolo Cardona Santiago
  2. Tatiana Astengo Mariela
  3. Cristian Mercado Miguel

Directors

  1. Javier Fuentes-LeóN

Producers

  1. Rodrigo Guerrero
  2. Javier Fuentes-León

Writers

  1. Javier Fuentes-LeÓN

Also watch your movie on...

  • In addition to YouTube you can also watch your movie on Android phones and tablets using the Google Play Movies app.
    Learn more

Undertow

Thumbnail Play video in overlay2:40

Trailer for Undertow

A man struggles to come to terms with the unexpected consequences of a secret love in this drama from director Javier Fuentes-León. Miguel (Cristian Mercado) supports himself and his family as a fisherman in a small town on the coast of Peru. Miguel is happily married to Mariela (Tatiana Astengo), who is pregnant with their first child, and the couple are well respected in their community and active in the local church. But there's a side of M... A man struggles to come to terms with the unexpected consequences of a secret love in this drama from director Javier Fuentes-León. Miguel (Cristian Mercado) supports himself and his family as a fisherman in a small town on the coast of Peru. Miguel is happily married to Mariela (Tatiana Astengo), who is pregnant with their first child, and the couple are well respected in their community and active in the local church. But there's a side of Miguel that he keeps hidden from most people -- Miguel is also in love with Santiago (Manolo Cardona), an artist who is spending time in the village, and the two have secretly been having an affair. Santiago drowns one evening while swimming, and his ghost visits Miguel, telling him that his spirit will not know peace until Miguel finds the courage to tell the community about their love. While some suspect Miguel is hiding something when nude paintings of him are found in Santiago's home, Miguel isn't sure where to find the courage to confess his bisexuality to his wife and neighbors. Undertow (aka Contracorriente) was an official selection in World Cinema program the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Audience Award for Best World Dramatic Feature.

Trailer for Undertow

Loading...
Working...

Reviews by Rotten Tomatoes

Scored 'fresh' by Rotten Tomatoes

88%Tomatometer score: 88% positive reviews from professional critics.

percent positive reviews

  1. Negative review
    Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune Meh. – Full review External link
  2. Positive review
    Wesley Morris, Boston Globe This drama is a first feature by Javier Fuentes-Lon that manages to outgrow the limits of its story. – Full review External link
  3. Positive review
    John Hartl, Seattle Times Reminiscent of such heavenly Hollywood fantasies as "Here Comes Mr. Jordan," Peru's "Undertow" suggests a more passionate, lyrical tale of a soul in search of a body. – Full review External link
  4. Positive review
    Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald Right from the start of Undertow, writer-director Javier Fuentes-Leon refuses to reduce any of his characters to clichs, which gives the film its fresh, captivating power. – Full review External link
  5. Positive review
    Bob Mondello, NPR Undertow, for all its narrative tricks, has been given the rhythm and texture of real life, as well as emotional undercurrents that are haunting. – Full review External link
  6. Positive review
    Ernest Hardy, Village Voice Set in a small, picturesque Peruvian fishing village, it's less a coming-out tale than a magic realism-infused coming-of-consciousness love story. – Full review External link

Read more reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

You might also like...

  1. Thumbnail

    Tomboy

    1:22:11 | 2011

    A little girl's innocent deception quickly snowballs into something that gradually becomes a crucial component of her identity in director Céline Sciamma's tender childhood drama. Ten-year-old Laure and her family have just moved into a new neighborhood. Although the little girl longs to make friends her age, she isn't quite certain how to go ab...

    Zoé HéRan, Malonn LéVana, Jeanne Disson

    Positive review 97% $3.99
  2. Thumbnail

    Roleplay

    1:24:52 | 2011

    A recently outed soap opera actor crosses paths with a recently divorced gay marriage activist, forcing them to confront the price of fame and the fickle nature of celebrity within the gay community. MPAA Rating: NOTRATED

    Steve Callahan, Matthew Montgomery, David Pevsner, Brian Nolan, Matthew Steph...

    $3.99
  3. Thumbnail

    The Fish Child

    1:32:22 | 2009

    Writer-director Lucía Puenzo follows up her feature debut, the festival favorite XXY, with The Fish Child, a romantic crime drama adapted from her novel of the same name. Lala (Inés Efron, who also starred in XXY) is an Argentinean girl from a wealthy family. She's desperately in love with the family's young live-in maid, La Guayi (singer Mariel...

    InéS Efron, Mariela Vitale, Pep Munné, Diego VeláZquez, Carlos Bardem

    $1.99
  4. Thumbnail

    The Wise Kids

    1:35:44 | 2011

    A reflective preacher's daughter, her devoutly religious best friend, and the homosexual son of a single father begin to question the beliefs of their tight-knit Baptist community while looking forward to the future in this soul searching drama from writer/director Stephen Cone.

    Molly Kunz, Tyler Ross, Allison Torem

    Positive review 100% $3.99
  5. Thumbnail

    Kawa

    1:19:50 | 2010

    Writer/director Katie Wolfe adapts Witi Ihimaera's novel Nights in the Gardens of Spain for the screen to tell the tale of a successful New Zealand husband and father who realizes he will have to come out of the closet as a homosexual in order to take his father's place at the head of the family. As his father prepares for retirement, Kawariki (...

    Calvin Tuteao, Nathalie Boltt, George Henare

    $1.99
  6. Thumbnail

    Trigger

    1:18:26 | 2010

    The founding members of a legendary female punk outfit are reunited years after their band imploded, and spend a long night reflecting on both their fractured friendship, as well as their moment in the spotlight in this raucous drama from director Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo, Pontypool). Ever since they were little girls, Victoria "Vic" Sawch...

    Molly Parker, Tracy Wright, Don Mckellar, Sarah Polly, Callum Keith Rennie

    Positive review 80% $1.99

Staff Picks

  1. Thumbnail

    Cloud Atlas

    Directors Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski team up to helm this adaptation of David Mitchell's popular novel Cloud Atlas. The trio have put tog...

    Cloud Atlas

    Partner rating: R
    2:51:54 | 2012

    Directors Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski team up to helm this adaptation of David Mitchell's popular novel Cloud Atlas. The trio have put together an all-star cast, including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, and Hugh Grant, to play various characters over the course of several different historical time periods. The various ...

    Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae,...

    Positive review 67% $3.99
  2. Thumbnail

    Side Effects

    Rooney Mara stars as Emily Taylor; her husband Martin (Channing Tatum) is a young businessman who, as the film opens, is soon to be released from prison afte...

    Side Effects

    Partner rating: R
    1:46:24 | 2013

    Rooney Mara stars as Emily Taylor; her husband Martin (Channing Tatum) is a young businessman who, as the film opens, is soon to be released from prison after serving a few years for financial fraud. Overcome with stress, the mentally fragile Emily performs a quasi-suicide attempt and is put in the care of Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), a workah...

    Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum, Vinessa Shaw, An...

    Positive review 85% $3.99
  3. Thumbnail

    Safe Haven

    A woman starts a new life in a small town in North Carolina and finds herself reluctantly attracted to a man who helps her confront her past in this Nicholas...

    Safe Haven

    Partner rating: PG-13
    1:55:37 | 2013

    A woman starts a new life in a small town in North Carolina and finds herself reluctantly attracted to a man who helps her confront her past in this Nicholas Sparks adaptation from Dear John director Lasse Hallström.

    Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, Cobie Smulders

    Negative review 13% $3.99
to add this to Watch Later
Loading...
Working...