La Cienaga is the story of two bourgeoise families on a summer vacation in their country house in Argentina. Alone, isolated from urban life, unavoidably close to each other, the family members face their own decadance as a group and push themselves, inentionally or not, to the the verge of complete domestic destruction. Nothing works: they don't understand each other, don't like each other, can't stand each other.
The mother is sick, and so sick of life that she prefers to remain sick in bed rather than keep living like she used to. The father is an detached figure in a corner. The brothers and sisters are, of course, in the wake, the middle, or the end of adolescence, with all its respective problems and dilemmas. The other family contains a shallow, overworking mother, a taciturn, passive father, and their little children.
The Swamp is crowded, and noisy; Lucrecia Martel perfectly translates the sticky and unconfortable sensation of humid hot weather, the smell of wet vegetation, dirty pools, brown-water rivers, and the phony cool of electric fans all over the place. All actors and actresses are excellent in their roles, and it's beautifully shot, making the most out of inanimate objects jus as well as characters doing superficial, day-to-day tasks, to create that unconfortable atmosphere of familiar-but-uncertain. Although it lacks a plot per se, there's an everpresent feeling that what is happening is leading someplace. Martel also masterfully creates sexual tension, loads of it, in a film where no sex takes place whatsoever, and where all the characters are, well, related. Regardless of whether it's awkward, Martel goes for it because it's real.
La Cienaga a slow-paced, rambling study of the human condition that builds tension until the unavoidable ending. GREAT. One of the best Argentinian films I've seen.
wow just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is a really good movie 2 watch....its got a really good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie...i think that the director of this Art House & International, Drama, Comedy
movie had done a really good job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie...its got a really good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie its got no plot but its a really good Art House & International, Drama, Comedy
movie 2 watch because its enjoyable
The first movie of the argentine director Lucrecia Martel. As good and perturbing as La Niña Santa (Holly Girl), her second work, in La Ciénaga we follow the life of two friends and their families during the summer vacations. The atmosphere is dense and heavy, we can feel the uncomfortable heat, we expect something to happen., but the end... is unexpected. Lucrecia Martel is definitely one of the best contemporary directors.
This is a wonderful piece of work, no real plot and if you're one of those who need one and prefers movies with lots of action, this is not for you. However, I found this film to be very entertaining and it also made me laugh at times. The first scenes are beautifully shot and captured me immediately. There's no real way of saying what it's about, just that you get a view into the lives of a few people. The sexual tension is all over the place even though there's not a bit of sex there.
All in all, it was a lot better than I expected.
lucrecia martel es un talento local del nuevo cine argentino. espero que mucha gente se de cuenta, algun dia, de la importancia de una pelicula como "la cienaga", en donde nada es lo que parece. en la que no hace falta decir muchas cosas para decirlas todas.
MCT:June 30, 2008
MCT:June 15, 2008
MCT:November 30, 2008
MCT:November 28, 2008
MCT:August 14, 2008
