Zama

 

Based on the novel by Antonio di Benedetto, Zama is the story of a magistrate living in a remote Argentine outpost as he awaits word from Spain for a transfer as he deals with the chaos of his situation and his environment. Written for the screen and directed by Lucrecia Martel, the film is the study of a man dealing with his situation in the late 18th Century as well as the fallacies of colonialism as he copes with being homesick but also the temptation in the land he is encountering. Starring Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Lola Duenas, Matheus Nachtergaele, and Juan Minujin. Zama is an intoxicating and riveting film from Lucrecia Martel.

Set in the 18th Century in Argentina at the Fermosa province, the film revolves around a magistrate who is awaiting word from Spain for a transfer to a nearby town in the hopes he can return home as he deals with political scheming, issues on colonialism, and other things. It is a film that follows the life of a man in Don Diego de Zama (Daniel Gimenez Cacho) who had spent a few years in this outpost in Argentina as he hopes to return home as he feels stuck in the assignment he is in as a magistrate. Lucrecia Martel’s screenplay doesn’t have much of a plot as it often involve Zama in situations whether it’s doing odd assignment to get his transfer or win over anyone to get what he wants. There is a structure to Martel’s script as the first act has him dealing with the gossip over a criminal in Vicuna Porto which he ignores while trying to win over the Spanish noblewoman Luciana Pinares de Luenga (Lola Duenas) by doing favors for her. Still, he contends with his assistant Ventura Prieto (Juan Minujin) as they have a brawl over the ideas of colonialism when Zama decides to help a family in dealing with natives with Prieto criticizing Zama over the situation.

The second act involves Zama dealing with a new governor as it makes Zama’s own life difficult as he was forced to move from his home to something much smaller with an illegitimate child and the child’s mother joining him as well as a young official whom Zama befriends. It plays into Zama being forced into a conflict to get his transfer but it comes with a sense of humility that becomes too much for Zama. Even in its third act set years later where he joins on a hunting expedition to find Porto with some men lead by a soldier in Gaspar Toledo (Matheus Nachtergaele) through the jungles and swamps where many of the natives live in. It is in this expedition where it doesn’t just play into Zama’s own fall from grace but also someone who has become desperate to return to Spain where he also endures some intense moments and other secrets relating to this journey.

Martel’s direction is definitely entrancing in terms of not just the compositions she creates but also in its locations as it is shot on location at the Fermosa province in Argentina near its border with Paraguay with locations set on riverside beaches, jungles, and swamps. The film begins with this wide shot of Zama standing on a beach while native women are washing themselves with mud which he would gaze at later on as he was on the beach awaiting the arrival of an old friend. It would then go into a shot of a child who is the son of the friend with a monologue relating to a specie of fishes who are swimming in water that doesn’t play into their favor as they spend their lives fighting in the waters they’re swimming in. It is this tale that serves as a metaphor for what Zama goes through where Martel uses a lot of wide and medium shots to play into his sense of isolation and disconnect with the locations he’s in while there are close-ups that play into his anguish and confusion. Whether it is him trying to comfort a landlord’s daughter or attempting to connect with the family he initially didn’t want as it play into a man who is meant to be someone of importance yet he starts to become more disheveled as the story progresses.

Martel also puts in some odd elements into the film whether it is small details such as men wearing painted fingernails, Africans wearing these dusty coats, and Shepard Tone sound bites that would appear in rare moments that would sometimes drown out conversations. It is among these moments that play into Zama’s isolation and confusion as he is someone that is a colonizer as he would then see the many fallacies of colonialism as the film progresses as well as the fact that his role in colonialism has him taking orders to do this with little results. The third act where he would join Toledo to find this mysterious criminal in Porto as the location itself is this change of scenery with its palm trees, watery swamps, and other mysterious things including blind natives walking at night. There are also these surreal moments that feature these encounter with the natives while its final image plays into that monologue about fishes and how it plays into Zama and his own fate as he deals with the futility of his role in the scheme of colonialism. Overall, Martel crafts a rapturous and mesmerizing film about a magistrate dealing with the fallacies of colonialism in 18th Century Argentina.

Cinematographer Rui Pocas does incredible work with the film’s luscious cinematography with its emphasis on natural lighting with many of the scenes shot in the day with available light with bits of low-key stylish lighting for scenes at night as it is a highlight of the film. Editors Miguel Schverdfinger and Karen Harley do brilliant work with the editing with its stylish approach to jump-cuts and other stylish cuts to play into the drama with a lot of it also being straightforward in its presentation. Art director Renata Pinheiro does excellent work with the look of the house Zama was living in during the film’s first act as well as some of the places he goes to as well as the small shack he would move in for the film’s second act. Costume designer Julio Suarez does fantastic work with the costumes from the dresses that Luciana wears to the clothes that Zama wears that would deteriorate as the film progresses.

Special effects makeup artist Sebastian Molchasky does nice work with the look of some of the natives as well as a scene in the third act involving natives and paint. Visual effects supervisors Santiago Svrisky and Hans van Helden do terrific work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects for the scene with the fishes as well as some set dressing for some of the locations. Sound designer Guido Berenblum does amazing work with the film’s sound in the usage of the Shepard Tone as well as the usage of natural sounds to help create a mix that is just intoxicating in its presentation. The film’s music soundtrack largely consists of offbeat folk music that appears sparingly to play into Zama’s own misadventures where it has elements of humor but also to play into the drama as it is a highlight of the film.

The casting by Natalia Smirnoff and Veronica Souto is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Milo Alberto Gutierrez as Zama’s illegitimate son, Vicenzo Navarro Rindel as the son of Zama’s friend the Oriental, Carlos Defeo as a friend of Zama known as the Oriental, Gustavo Bohm as the governor in the film’s first act, the trio of Dolores Ocampo, Carla Diaz, and Paula Grinzpan as the landlord’s daughter whom Zama is fond of, Mariana Nunes as a black maid of Lucia, Daniel Veronese as the governor in the film’s second act who makes Zama’s duties difficult, and Nahuel Cano in a superb performance as a young government official in Fernandez whom Zama befriends because of his aspirations to be a writer despite gaining the ire of the second governor in the film. Juan Minujin is fantastic as a young magistrate assistant in Ventura Prieto who disagrees with Zama’s views on colonialism as he would manage to use his scheming to get favor from government officials and others to advance his career.

Lola Duenas is excellent as Luciana Pinares de Luenga as the wife of a Spanish nobleman who is someone Zama is fond of and hopes to woo in order to get some clout from her as she has this unique presence that is full of beauty but also power that allows her to win favors for the Spanish government. Matheus Nachtergaele is brilliant as a soldier named Gaspar Toledo who would help Zama in the film’s third act in trying to find this mysterious criminal as he is someone that knows a lot about the jungles and its natives while carrying a secret of his own. Finally, there’s Daniel Gimenez Cacho in a phenomenal performance as Don Diego de Zama as this Spanish magistrate who is waiting to be transferred and return home as he endures setbacks, humiliating assignments, and other things where Cacho brings that sense of gravitas as a man who thinks he is important only to then realize that he’s just a pawn in the scheme of things bigger than him with ideals that are outdated and obsolete.

Zama is a tremendous film from Lucrecia Martel that features a sensational leading performance from Daniel Gimenez Cacho. Along with its ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, an unconventional take on colonialism and ennui, offbeat music soundtrack, and intoxicating sound design. The film is a fascinating look into the world of colonialism and how a man who seems to support these ideas only to realize its many fallacies as well as his own role in that idealism that ends up being a bunch of bullshit. In the end, Zama is a spectacular film from Lucrecia Martel.

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