"What shall we see tonight?" "I don't know - - how about that black-and-white lesbian road movie from Argentina?" Not the likeliest exchange perhaps, but if you're looking for an alternative to the usual fodder you could do worse than seeking out this seductive, slow-burning curio.
Marcia (Tatiana Saphir), an overweight salesgirl from Buenos Aires, is kidnapped by two lesbian punks and whisked away to the coast. As Mao (Carla Crespo) sets about breaking down Marcia's defences, Lenine (Verónica Hassan) catches up with an ageing aunt (Beatriz Thibaudín) and her eccentric group of friends.
After an edgy, unsettling opening, Diego Lerman's lo-fi debut gradually sheds its spikes to reveal a gentle side, some warm-hearted humour rising to the surface as we get to know the troubled but kind-hearted characters. Starkly photographed and naturalistic it may be, but it also has a diverting whimsy that celebrates both the invigorating unpredictability of life as well as the inexplicable oddity of human behaviour.
