La Ciénaga (2001)

Director Lucrecia Martel probably wanted to create a stifling atmosphere in this Argentinian family drama, but I found it to be more like one big apathetic mess. Listless family members bicker occasionally and are mostly just being uninteresting. It absolutely fails to evoke any sympathy! That probably wasn't the film's intention, but still, it would have enhanced the viewing experience. Anyway, I didn't think this was all that great .

Translated from Dutch · View original

Just taking a moment to catch my breath. It is not often you see a film that is so harsh towards its characters. And clearly towards Argentina in 2001 as well. A completely disintegrated family in a house that radiates faded glory from every angle. Light bulbs break, towels turn into rags, the swimming pool has been dirty for years, and the ice is always gone. Everyone gets sick, cuts themselves, the weather is too hot, or it rains too hard. Making plans to do something takes days. The younger generation also offers little hope and mostly spouts the same racist language as the elders. The only one who shows a little more, Momi, on the other hand, has absolutely no idea how to express herself.

Of course, all this also refers to the state of Argentina, which was in a huge crisis in 2001, but that does not happen, as is so often the case, through archetypes resembling people, but through human characters, however unsympathetic.

Never rest on the very impressive soundtrack.

I saw La Nina Santa a long time ago, which I didn't connect with much at the time. But this film makes me wonder if I missed out on a lot back then.

Translated from Dutch · View original

This is my first by Lucrecia Martel, and it isn't a bad introduction, but it hasn't exactly turned out to be an overwhelming one either. She does know how to create atmosphere very well with the sweltering heat, the occasional heavy rain shower, and especially a lot of background noise. The many family members huddled together in the house cause the necessary chaos. Various injuries are sustained, everyone is complaining about the heat, and boredom seems to have set in above all.

Martel manages to imbue the film with a strong atmosphere, but I still feel something is missing from the story. That one extra burst of speed that elevates the film to a higher level, ensuring it remains etched in my memory for longer than a few weeks. That might well have been the case if little Luciano's fall had occurred earlier in the film, because as it is, the film ends with something that could have triggered a real crisis.

In some ways, Martel did manage to spark a bit of interest in discovering more of her oeuvre, because the creation of atmosphere was certainly strong.

3*

Translated from Dutch · View original