Review of La Ciénaga (2001) by Michael O — 05 Jul 2010

Perhaps this isn't the most educated of film critique but I'll go ahead and say it: this movie put me to sleep not once but twice. What may be hypnotic and subversive (way, way subversive) in the way it satirizes the decadent upper class of Argentina to some people read to me as a conceptual chore where the idea is to be put through as mundane and morbidly flavorless a life as the one the characters in this film inhabit.

The film follows two families that once had it all and now live in their filth except without the fun the documentary 'Grey Gardens' had exploring that world since I'm assuming that Martel wants us to find little sympathy or glamor in any of this film. In this the director has achieved her goal. This is a scathing look at the once rich Argentineans and from the look of it a very personal one as well. The camera sits still most of the time without composition or artfulness which captures artless and motionless people. The style of the film can overall be seen as boring with spurts of 'hmm, look at that" (as your eyes slowly widen and a yawn slowly crawls out).

I'll close by saying that Martel's style suffers from the same flaws that are usually attributed to Sofia Coppola. Both filmmakers study boredom, alienation, and do so with a challenging lack of clarity. Yet Martel takes boredom a thousand steps forward so if you thought Sofia is a chore (to me a delightful chore) then give this a try and believe me you'll go running to get a copy of MARIE ANTOINETTE from your nearest video store.