The Fish Child (2009)
"El niño pez" (original title)

A desperate love story between two young girls of extremely different social backgrounds who, unable to find a place for their love in the world they live in, are pushed to commit a crime.

Director:

Lucía Puenzo

Writers:

Lucía Puenzo (screenplay), Lucía Puenzo (novel)

Stars:

Inés Efron, Mariela Vitale, Pep Munné

5 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Inés Efron	...	Lala
Mariela Vitale	...	La Guayi (as Mariela Vitale Emme)
Pep Munné	...	El juez Bronté
Diego Velázquez	...	El Vasco
Carlos Bardem	...	Comisario Pulido
Arnaldo André	...	Sócrates Espina
Ailín Salas	...	la Guayi niña
Sandra Guida	...	Felicitas
Julián Doregger	...	Nacho
Paloma Contreras	...	La Chapulina
Darío Valenzuela	...	Guida
Jerónimo Perassolo	...	El niño pez
Marco Vera	...	Animador en la bailanta
Sergio Lapegüe	...	Conductor del noticiero
Pedro Di Salvia

Storyline

Lala, a teenager from the most exclusive suburban neighborhood in Argentina is in love with the Guayi, the 20-year-old Payaguayan maid working at her place. They dream of living together in Paraguay, at the shores of lake Ypoá. Robbing every purse and wallet in the house to fulfill their dream, hiding the money in a shoe box. But when the box is full, it bursts, fueled by desire, jealousy and rage. This is the starting point that spurs the escape through the highway that connects the North of Buenos Aires with Paraguay. While Lala waits to be reunited with her lover in Ypoá by reconstructing her past (the mystery surrounding her pregnancy and the legend of a fish child who guides the drowned to the bottom of the lake), the Guayi is detained in a minors institute in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. She turns out to be hiding a crime from long ago.

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Plot Keywords:

love | lake | paraguay | argentina | jealousy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Argentina France Spain

Language:

Spanish Guarani

Release Date:

9 April 2009 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

The Fish Child

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company Credits

Production Co:

Historias Cinematograficas Cinemania, Ibermedia European Community Program, Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales (INCAA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Con Locura"
Written by Andrés Goldstein and Daniel Tarrab

User Reviews

It Has Promise, But Doesn't Live Up To Expectations

It sounded interesting; almost like an Argentine version of "Heavenly Creatures" - but in the end "The Fish Child" fails to live up to the promise that it seems to have.

The story revolves around the teenage daughter of an Argentine judge and his wife, who falls in love with the family's Paraguayan maid. The two plot to run off together to Paraguay, to live in a house by a lake, but things don't turn out as planned when the judge is killed. There's not a lot of mystery about his killing; there is a lot of intrigue about the past - particularly the maid's past - but somehow the movie seemed kind of choppy to me (perhaps the result of subtitles) so that it didn't really draw me in particularly well.

The strongest part of the movie is probably the performance of Ines Efron as the judge's daughter. She was quite good and convincing in the role. Mariela Vitale was also quite good as the maid.

That said, the movie still disappointed a bit. (4/10)