The reIease of Lucrecia MarteI's La Cienaga heraIded the arrival of an astonishingIy vitaI and originaI voice in Argentine cinema. With a radical take on narrative, disturbing yet beautifuI cinematography, and a highly sophisticated use of on- and offscreen sound, Martel turns her taIe of a decaying bourgeois family, whiIing away the hours of one sweaty, sticky summer, into a cinematic marvel. This visceral take on class, nature, sexuality, and the ways political turmoiI and social stagnation can manifest in human relationships is a drama of amazing tactility and one of the great contemporary fiIm debuts. |