Presented by the fashion brand Miu Miu, Women’s Tales is a collection of short films made by women that in which the filmmakers use the clothes of Miu Miu to each tell a story of their own. Each film is set during a certain collection from that season from the fashion brand where a filmmaker is allowed to create a story through the clothes. There are 25 short films so far that all play into womanhood while wearing beautiful clothing.
I-V:
Powder Room (Zoe Cassavetes) is about a woman going into a powder room at a lavish hotel in London for some beauty rest as she sees other women going in and getting ready for whatever they’re about to do. It’s a three-minute short that doesn’t have much going for it but it does set the tone for what the rest of the series does though it’s not a promising start despite its minimalist tone.
Muta (Lucrecia Martel) is set on a yacht on the Amazon near Paraguay where eight women would be on the yacht wearing lavish clothing though their faces aren’t shown with a couple of them wearing masks. Featuring regular Martel actress Maria Alche, the six-minute short is a surreal one as it features an unseen men trying to get on the boat but fails as it is one of the best shorts of the series.
The Woman Dress (Giada Colagrande) revolves around a woman who enters a room where three women are preparing a ritual in creating a dress. The six-minutes short is a strange one in terms of its mixture of drama with a bit of horror though the latter is presented in a less gory manner than one would expect. It is a fascinating short that has Colagrande create something that has elements of surrealism but does a lot in emphasizing the creation of a dress.
It’s Getting Late (Massy Tadjedin) revolves around four women getting ready to finish their work to attend a concert by Zola Jesus. Starring Patricia Clarkson, Gemma Arterton, Rinko Kikuchi, and Aubrey Plaza, the short shows what these women do on a work day with Arterton being a stay-at-home mother, Clarkson a film editor, Kikuchi as a corporate executive, and Plaza as a blogger. The short has them taking off their work clothes and put on the Miu Miu outfit to watch Zola Jesus as it is an incredible short.
The Door (Ava Duvernay) is a stylish short that stars Gabrielle Union as a woman dealing with loneliness as she would meet three different women who would give her a night out. Featuring Adepero Oduye, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and singer Goapele Mohlabene as these admirers, the short has Duvernay showcase this sense of sisterhood among black women as the short also has Alfre Woodard as either a neighbor or Union’s mother who helps Union’s character as it is a phenomenal short.
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.
Among one of the key figures of the New Argentine Cinema movement of the late 1990s/early 2000s, Lucrecia Martel is a figure who made films that explored the country’s growing social and economic turmoil that would usher in a new era for Argentina. Unlike many of her contemporaries such as the late Fabian Bielinsky and Juan Jose Campanella, Martel’s films focused on individuals living in the fringes of society as well as women finding their identity in their rural environments. While Martel, like several of her female contemporaries in cinema, doesn’t make films often due to their lack of commercial appeal. She has become one of the finest voices in cinema for her exploration of characters and their surroundings.
Born on December 14, 1966 in Salta, Argentina, Lucrecia Martel lived in a city that was far removed from the more modern world of Buenos Aires. Salta was a city that appealed to the middle and working class who live north of the country as it proved to be a sense of inspiration for Martel. Though she would go to Buenos Aires in the 1980s to attend the National Experimental Filmmaking School which would introduce her to many kind of films and ideas about filmmaking. It would shut down all of a sudden due to lack of funds forcing Martel to use what she learned and teach herself more about the ideas and craft of filmmaking. At the same time, she also noticed the films that were being made in her own country that didn’t exactly appeal to Argentines other than the wave of post-junta films that talked about the country’s troubled period where it was under martial law.
You Won’t Get Her, Bastard/La Otra From 1989 to 1994, Martel would create several short films during that period that ranged from documentary to fiction-based shorts. Among them was a fictional two-minute short about a boy who is drawing pictures as he believes that a man who is stalking a woman is coming as he imagines killing the man. Though the short wouldn’t play into the themes that Martel would dwell into in later years, it did show that she had an eye for suspense and humor. Another short that was made in 1990 was a documentary short about drag queens in Argentina as Martel shot the doc on video as she filmed their methods into putting on makeup and why they chose the life of a drag queen. The short showcases what they do as performers as it gives them a sense of life while not wanting to become a sense of disturbance to anyone who would feel uncomfortable.
Rey Muerto With her work in short films that would allow her to refine her craft, Martel was asked to take part in a film project called Historias Breves I (Brief Tales I) which would give filmmakers from Latin America a chance to create short films as a way to break into the world of films. Martel would contribute a piece of her own as it revolves around an alcoholic crime figure who is asking for his wife unaware that she’s leaving him after years of abuse. It is set in a rural deserted area of Argentina as Martel wanted to show a film that was miles away from Buenos Aires in order to focus on those living outside of modern culture. The short would showcase Martel’s interest in the world outside of the city as well as the surroundings as it would include images of nature and other moments that are surreal.
Among the moments are some of the visuals as Martel drew upon some of the visuals of the famed Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky who would be one of several influences into her filmmaking style. Notably in the way she presented this rural landscape as it added to the sense of despair for the wife and her children who are trying to leave where they’re confronted by her husband and all hell breaks loose. The short film would make its premiere in film festivals in 1995 where it won a short film prize at the 1995 Havana Film Festival in Cuba. The short’s success should’ve been the launching pad for Martel but the late 1990s would prove to be a tumultuous period for Argentina and its film industry. The economic depression of the country would lead to its film industry to make less films as its audiences started to dwindle where years of light entertainment and other stylish films became less interesting as it wouldn’t reflect the chaos that was happening in the country.
La Cienaga
Aware of what is happening in her home country, Martel would be part of a group of filmmakers who decided to make films about what is going on in the country rather than make the kind of films that is often expected from the mainstream. Martel decided to return to her hometown to make a film that would be part of an informal trilogy of films set entirely in the small town of Salta. Most notably as it would be inspired by Martel’s time with her family in rural parts of Salta as the film would be set in a remote family home where a family spend time in their country home as tension starts to simmer as it relates to relatives as well as the fact that they’re living in a decayed country home. The story would be told in the span of a weekend as it would explore the difference of social classes where a bourgeoisie family wants little to do with relatives who live in a poorer part of Salta.
Rather than go for established film stars or top-tier actors from the country, Martel wanted to go for something different yet she would receive the services of Graciela Borges in the lead role of Mecha as Borges is known for being the country’s finest actress. Along with key roles from Mercedes Moran as Mecha’s cousin Tali, Martin Adjemian as Mecha’s husband Gregorio, and Daniel Valenzuela as Tali’s husband Rafael. With collaborators such as cinematographer Hugo Colace, editor Santiago Ricci, set decorator Cristina Nigro, art director Graciela Oderigo, and a team of sound mixers and recorders to create some intricate sound design for the film. Most notably the film’s opening sequence where Mecha, Gregorio, and other people are drinking and dragging their chairs towards the pool to play into the natural sparseness of the sound.
Martel would also employ a sense of intimacy in her approach to the characters where Tali visits Mecha as the latter is injured which play into their differences where the former’s children are looking at this house that is unique but also messy and neglected with the inhabitants being bored. Even as Mecha’s kids are trying to find ways to kill their boredom as they live in a home that has a lot but want to venture into the forest for some form of adventure. Yet, they’re in conflict over returning to a home where their mother moans about the state of things and a father who is more concerned with retaining his youth as it play into Martel’s own fascination with characters wanting to be something else but are trapped in their environment.
The film made its premiere in February of 2001 where it won the Alfred Bauer Prize as it would play in various film festivals where it would make its U.S. debut later in October where it played at the New York Film Festival to great acclaim and a limited theatrical release a week later as it drew rave reviews. The film would garner several prizes from Argentina’s film critics association as well as being a favorite among film critics in Europe. South America, and North America. For Martel, the film would also help the Argentine film industry as it would create more films that reflected the troubling nature of Argentina.
The Holy Girl
The success of La Cienaga wouldn’t just give Martel attention in the world of film but also the chance to make another film as she got the attention of the famed Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar and his producing brother Augustin. Along with the Almodovar’s longtime producing partner Esther Garcia, the trio decided to fund Martel’s next film as they had already succeeded in producing films for other filmmakers including Guillermo del Toro for 2001’s The Devil’s Backbone. Wanting to have her next film set in Salta but this time in the city rather than set it partially in the countryside, the film would revolve around a young girl who comes of age sexually and religiously as she meets a troubled doctor in the hopes that she can help him.
Reuniting with Mercedes Moran who would play a supporting role of sorts as the mother of the young girl Amalia who is played by then-newcomer Maria Alche. It would be set partially in a hotel that is struggling with Moran as its manager as she becomes attracted to this troubled doctor in Dr. Jano played by Carlos Belloso who arrives for a medical conference the hotel is hosting. When Dr. Jano watches a puppet show with Amalia whom he mistakes as a prostitute, things become complicated as Amalia’s time in religious school would have her believing that Dr. Jano is in trouble and can be saved. While Martel would retain many of collaborators from her previous film, she would get a different cinematographer in Felix Monti who would provide a low-key approach to the lighting for the hotel to play up its decayed and troubled state.
The film also played into some of the stranger elements about faith and sexuality as it relates to Amalia’s friend Josefina, who is played by Julieta Zylberberg, who is convinced that she saw a miracle when a man fell down from the home she lives in and had survived. Wanting to maintain a minimalist approach to the film, Martel chose to not use a lot of camera movements in order to create some precise compositions such as the film’s ending as it relates to Amalia and Josefina at the hotel swimming pool in a medium-wide shot. It would show Martel not just becoming more confident in her work as a filmmaker but also standing out from her Argentine contemporaries by creating films that don’t play by the rules as well as dwell into subject matters that many wouldn’t dare go to.
The film premiered in early May of 2004 in Argentina that was followed by an international premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in France a week later where it played in competition for the Palme d’Or. While the film didn’t receive the same kind of praise her previous film did, it still managed to be a hit with critics as well as in various film festivals all over the world as it would get a limited U.S. release in April of 2005. The film would garner a few accolades such as special mention at a film festival in Sao Paolo as well as gaining a following in Europe and with art-house audiences in America.
La Ciudad que Huye During a break between films, Martel shot a five-minute documentary short about the gated communities in Argentina as it played into her fascination with those that don’t fit in with traditional society. Yet, the focus is on the social divide as it relates to one gated community with a square foot of nearly 5000 km as Martel and her crew tried to go in as she is turned away with rumors that the community is filled with golf courses, lavish housing, and everything that upper class citizens would have. The short was controversial yet Martel did reveal that the divide in the social class was a major contribution to the country’s economic crisis of the late 90s.
The Headless Woman
After a gap between films that included serving as a juror at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival for its main competition, Martel would once again turn to the Almodovars in funding the third and final film of her informal trilogy set in her home town of Salta. This time around, the film would revolve around a woman from a middle upper-class environment who would suffer a mental breakdown following a hit-and-run unsure of what she hit. Martel decided to go into this exploration of a woman coming undone as it play into the realization of her environment and her attempt to readjust to her normal life only for things to go wrong. For the lead role of the character Veronica, the famed Argentine actress Maria Onetto was cast in the lead role while the rest of the ensemble would be Argentine actors Martel hadn’t worked with.
With the exception of costume designer Julio Suarez, Martel would once again work with an entirely new crew that included the Uruguayan cinematographer Barbara Alvarez. The film would once again be shot in Salta where Martel would emphasize on a more upper class section of the city as filming began in 2007 where Martel shot on location as it would play into rural areas of the city near the canals where the incident takes place. It’s an area that play into Veronica’s disconnect with the world around her as she is often protected by family and friends who shield her from the truth of what she did which would add to her mental and emotional deterioration. Rather than let things happen in a conventional manner where Veronica’s unraveling becomes something big, Martel chooses slow down this breakdown piece by piece to play into Veronica’s confrontation with reality.
Martel would emphasize on minimalism to present this story as it played on long gazing shots and realistic surroundings as it harkens into the works of Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni. Notably as Martel had similarities to Antonioni’s themes of alienation as well as the exploration of social classes in relation to Antonioni’s work in the 1950s and early 1960s where the character of Veronica gets a glimpse into the world of the working class as she wants to help but is lured into the lifestyle that she has been surrounded by. Even as it add to this sense of despair and unsure if she can really contribute anything with all of her wealth. Martel would often shoot the character of Veronica on the edge of a frame to play into this sense of detachment with the world she’s in as it add to her descent.
The film made its premiere in May of 2008 at the Cannes Film Festival where it played in competition for the Palme d’Or. Though the film didn’t win any awards nor was it well-received by audiences in its premiere as the film was booed. The film was well-received by critics as it was later released in August in Argentina to great acclaim. Two months later at the Rio de Janeiro Film Festival, the film received the FIPRESCI prize while the film would get a limited North American release in 2009 where it was voted best foreign film from the film critics association in Vancouver, Canada. Despite its acclaim and success in Europe and South America, the film would Martel’s last film for some time as she embarked on getting a major film project developed that would end up going nowhere.
Nueva argiopolis/Pescados In 2010 while attempting to adapt Hector German Oesterheld’s graphic novel The Eternal that would be developed for two years where it eventually got scrapped. Martel decided to make a couple of short films during this time as one of them is an experimental fragmented short revolving around a group of people living in a seaside town as it relates to a mysterious event in the sea. Notably as Martel would focus on these characters who live in poor, working class environment either trying to find work or learn something from YouTube as the short would play into Martel’s interest in individuals or a group of people who don’t exactly fit into society.
Another short film made in 2010 that Martel did was a four-minute piece relating to fishes as it another experimental short film that is drawn upon surrealism. The film mainly revolves around fishes singing as there would be these strange close-ups of catfishes and other fishes looking at the camera singing with brief images of cars driving on highways in the rain. The short would play into the absurdity of the world through look of fishes.
Mute A year later, Martel was approached by Prada in making a short film for their Miu Miu label as part of their Women’s Tales series of short films that were all directed by women. With Zoe Cassavetes making the first one, Martel agreed to take part in the project for financial reasons as well as do something creatively. The six-minute short would reunite Martel with actress Maria Alche who plays one of eight women wearing Prada clothing as they’re walking around a yacht on the Amazon River in Paraguay. Martel never shows the faces of the women, even as a couple of them wear masks, as it adds to the surreal elements of the film as well as the idea that the boat only feature women as a man tries to get in but never makes it as he is also never seen. The short would be a hit for the Miu Miu label as it would help give Martel financial stability after plans to adapt The Eternal finally fell apart.
Zama
Written and directed by Lucrecia Martel, La Cienaga (The Swamp) is the story of a rich family who spend the summer at a small country home as they contend with relatives and simmering tension that looms on the family. The film is an exploration into world of families and social classes as a rich couple with teenage children cope with themselves and their life as part of the bourgeoisie. Starring Graciela Borges, Mercedes Moran, Martin Adjemian, and Daniel Valenzuela. La Cienaga is a ravishing and captivating film from Lucrecia Martel.
Set in a small city in Northern Argentina called La Cienaga, the film revolves around the life of a bourgeois family that lives in a decaying country home during the summer as they do nothing but drink and other activities to cope with the heat as well as visiting relatives who live in the town. It’s a film that doesn’t have much of a plot but little stories about various people living in this house and the town nearby as they all do ordinary things amidst the differences in social standings. For someone like Mecha (Graciela Borges), she seems to have everything but her country house is a mess, the pool is filthy, her teenage children are roaming around the house, and her husband Gregorio (Martin Adjemian) spends his time trying to look young. Mecha would spend much of her holiday drinking wine with ice as she copes with being injured during a drunken rainy day as her children are trying to find ways to kill their boredom.
The film’s screenplay doesn’t play into any kind of traditional structure as it takes place largely in the span of a weekend where Mecha is stuck in her house recovering from an injury as she is visited by her cousin Tali (Mercedes Moran) who is a very different woman from Mecha. Though Tali has four kids as well who are quite rambunctious, she is a woman that lives a simpler life with her husband Rafael (Daniel Valenzuela) despite not having much as she needs to travel to Bolivia to get school supplies because it’s cheaper there than in Argentina. Along with little subplots involving a young maid named Isabel (Andrea Lopez) about to be fired over accusations of stealing towels, boys hunting in the mountains, and the eldest son Jose (Juan Cruz Bordeau) dealing with relationship issues with an older lover. It plays into something that feels ordinary but also very real as the story plays into Mecha’s teenage daughters coping with growing up while Tali’s children are also growing up as they wonder about things in Mecha’s home and such.
Lucrecia Martel’s direction definitely plays into a style that is simple and to the point as she shoots the film on location in the Argentine town of Salta where it feels like a place that is in a small town that is nearby the country. Much of the direction has Martel utilize hand-held cameras to play into a sense of intimacy as its opening sequence of Mecha, Gregorio, and friends relaxing and being drunk in the nearby pool is quite mesmerizing. It definitely sets up for what is to come as it definitely makes something that looks and feels ordinary very compelling in its image and how it sounds. Even as the house itself is a character in the film where it sort of represents who Mecha is as she is sort of falling apart due to the fact that she has everything but isn’t very happy. Even as her cousin Tali, who may not have everything, believes that Mecha will end up like their grandmother who ended up staying in bed for the rest of her life. Martel also uses the differences of Mecha and Tali into not just suggesting class and personality differences but also into the study of their respective families.
Though Tali’s younger children that includes a teenage daughter in Augustina (Noelia Bravo Herrera) are often surrounded by things though they don’t have a lot. They seem more grounded as does Tali’s husband Rafael who is always attentive towards the children. Both women are connected by the television report of a possible sighting of the Virgin Mary in the town as well as planning a trip to Bolivia. Yet, their both diverging into different directions as Mecha is surrounded by chaos in her own family as Martel’s usage of close-ups and medium shots play into that chaos. Notably as Mecha’s children are eager to escape their surroundings but have to go back because their home is their safe haven but an uneasy one due to the matriarch that lives there complaining about everything while their father is becoming delusional over his lost youth. Overall, Martel creates a very disturbing yet evocative film about a family’s bleak summer in the middle of an Argentine countryside.
Cinematographer Hugo Colace does brilliant work with the film‘s ravishing cinematography with its emphasis on natural colors as well as natural interior lights to play into the look of the homes and some lighting schemes for the scenes at night. Editor Santiago Ricci does excellent work with the editing to create some unique jump-cuts to play into the drama as well as the energy of the kids in their different activities. Set decorator Cristina Nigro and art director Graciela Oderigo do fantastic work with the look of Mecha‘s home and its sense of decay with lamps that barely work as it feels like a place that was once great but it‘s losing its beauty. The sound work of Herve Guyader, Emmanuel Croset, Guido Berenblum, and Adrian de Michele are incredible as it has this mix of sparse textures and layers of sounds from its opening sequence to moments where music is heard as all of the music that is played which adds to the film‘s naturalistic tone.
The casting by Florencia Blanco, Martin Mainoli, Luciana Rico, and Natalia Smirnoff is amazing as it features some notable small roles from Fabio Villafane as Isabel’s boyfriend Perro, Silvia Bayle as Jose’s much-older girlfriend Mercedes, Diego Baenas as Mecha’s youngest child in the one-eyed teenager Joaquin, Franco Veneranda as Tali’s eldest son Martin who likes to go hunting with Joaquin, Sebastian Montagna as Tali’s youngest son in the curious Luciano, Maria Micol Ellero as Tali’s youngest daughter in the energetic Mariana, Noelia Bravo Herrera as Tali’s eldest child in Augustina who helps with her older cousins cope with boredom, and Andrea Lopez as the young maid Isabel who deals with the idea of being fired as well as her own personal life. Juan Cruz Bordeau is terrific as Mecha’s eldest son Jose who is a man full of charm but is also a bit of a creep towards his own sisters. Leonora Balcare is superb as the older sister Veronica who copes with Jose’s presence while Sofia Bertolotto is wonderful as the younger sister Momi who copes with her own growing pains as she is secretly in love with Isabel.
Martin Adjemian is excellent as Mecha’s husband Gregorio as this man who is desperate to look young as he copes with aging and the growing disdain he’s getting from his wife. Daniel Valenzuela is fantastic as Tali’s husband Rafael who is very kind and helpful man as he would tell Tali to not to go to Bolivia while coping with the day-to-day things in his job and at home. Mercedes Moran is brilliant as Tali as this woman who lives in a working class town as she copes with trying to get things she needs for her children as well as other things in her life while helping Mecha out. Finally, there’s Graciela Borges in an amazing performance as Mecha as this rich yet unhappy woman who drowns her sorrows in drink as she complains about not having things get done as well as her children as she brings this very troubled yet sympathetic performance to a woman who is lost in her decaying lifestyle.
La Cienaga is a remarkable film from Lucrecia Martel. It’s a film that explores a family coming apart in their own world as well as the idea of class differences and how some cope with those differences. Even as it showcases those that are dealing with growing pains and the fears that they might end up like their own parents. In the end, La Cienaga is a phenomenal film from Lucrecia Martel.
Lucrecia Martel Films: The Holy Girl - The Headless Woman - Zama - The Auteurs #65: Lucrecia Martel
