Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

La Ciénaga

  • 20012001
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 43m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
6.7K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
14,707
2,055
La Ciénaga (2001)
The life of two women and their families in a small provincial town of Salta, Argentina.
Play trailer1:51
1 Video
13 Photos
ComedyDrama
The life of two women and their families in a small provincial town of Salta, Argentina.The life of two women and their families in a small provincial town of Salta, Argentina.The life of two women and their families in a small provincial town of Salta, Argentina.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
6.7K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
14,707
2,055
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Lucrecia Martel
    • Writer
      • Lucrecia Martel
    • Stars
      • Mercedes Morán
      • Graciela Borges
      • Martín Adjemián
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Lucrecia Martel
    • Writer
      • Lucrecia Martel
    • Stars
      • Mercedes Morán
      • Graciela Borges
      • Martín Adjemián
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 34User reviews
    • 63Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
    • Awards
      • 16 wins & 8 nominations

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:51
    Official Trailer

    Photos13

    Martín Adjemián, Graciela Borges, and Mercedes Morán in La Ciénaga (2001)
    Martín Adjemián, Graciela Borges, and Mercedes Morán in La Ciénaga (2001)
    Sofia Bertolotto and Juan Cruz Bordeu in La Ciénaga (2001)
    Martín Adjemián and Graciela Borges in La Ciénaga (2001)
    Mercedes Morán in La Ciénaga (2001)
    Martín Adjemián and Graciela Borges in La Ciénaga (2001)
    La Ciénaga (2001)
    Lucrecia Martel in La Ciénaga (2001)
    Lucrecia Martel in La Ciénaga (2001)
    Martín Adjemián and Lucrecia Martel in La Ciénaga (2001)
    Lucrecia Martel in La Ciénaga (2001)
    La Ciénaga (2001)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Mercedes Morán
    Mercedes Morán
    • Tali
    Graciela Borges
    Graciela Borges
    • Mecha
    Martín Adjemián
    Martín Adjemián
    • Gregorio
    Leonora Balcarce
    • Verónica
    Silvia Baylé
    • Mercedes
    Sofia Bertolotto
    Sofia Bertolotto
    • Momi
    Juan Cruz Bordeu
    • José
    Noelia Bravo Herrera
    • Agustina
    Maria Micol Ellero
    • Mariana
    Andrea López
    • Isabel
    Sebastián Montagna
    • Luciano
    Daniel Valenzuela
    Daniel Valenzuela
    • Rafael
    Franco Veneranda
    • Martín
    Fabio Villafane
    • Perro
    Diego Baenas
    • Joaquín
    • Director
      • Lucrecia Martel
    • Writer
      • Lucrecia Martel
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Holy Girl
    6.7
    The Holy Girl
    La mujer sin cabeza
    6.5
    La mujer sin cabeza
    Zama
    6.7
    Zama
    Historias Breves 1
    6.5
    Historias Breves 1
    The Empty Classroom
    5.3
    The Empty Classroom
    Chocobar
    Chocobar
    Pizza, Beer, and Cigarettes
    7.0
    Pizza, Beer, and Cigarettes
    Chronicle of a Boy Alone
    7.4
    Chronicle of a Boy Alone
    AI
    5.7
    AI
    The Intruder
    6.0
    The Intruder
    Muta
    6.1
    Muta
    Silent Light
    7.2
    Silent Light

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      With respect to the original script there was no change, the adherence between script and the final cut is absolute, except for a short scene that was eliminated from the work plan.
    • Quotes

      Mecha: ¡Qué porquería me resultaste, Gregorio!

      Mecha: ¡Chinita carnavalera!

    • Connections
      Featured in Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      El Niño y el Canario
      (as "El niño y el Canario")

      Written by Hilario Cuadros (as H. Cuadros) & Evaristo Fratantoni (as E. Fratantoni)

      Performed by Jorge Cafrune

      Edited by Sony Music Argentina

    User reviews34

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    Moody, Sensual, and Atmospheric
    La Ciénaga, directed by first-timer Lucrecia Martel, uses a seemingly uneventful series of episodes and an atmospheric sense of impending doom to make a statement about the decadence of the Argentine middle class. The decaying families are portrayed without much sympathy, showing them as racist, uncaring, and self-indulgent.

    The screen veritably pulsates with life and ugliness. Every frame is filled with children and animals running in and out, dogs barking, everyone talking at the same time, music blaring, and the TV bellowing something about Virgin Mary sightings. It's almost as if the camera is eavesdropping on an intimate family gathering, making the viewer feel like an uninvited guest at a party.

    The narrative (such as it is) is about two families and their children thrown together at the end of a stifling hot summer, and how everybody bears the marks of carelessness and inattention: scars, burns, bruises. Nothing works in this milieu; the pool is very dirty, one boy has lost one eye, another is afraid of stories about dog-rats, drinking is excessive and accidents result as a consequence. The mother (Mecha) is a drunk who just seems to be waiting for the end to face life in bed for 20 years like her own mother. She makes racist remarks directed toward her servant, yells at her own daughter Momi, (who seems to be infatuated with the servant), and makes vague plans to go to Bolivia to buy school supplies for the kids.

    La Cienaga is not easy to watch. It is moody, sensual, atmospheric, almost unbearably intimate, with a constant level of anxiety and tension. You can feel the humidity building on your forehead. Danger is always near, and violence seems not just possible but probable. There is an unspoken longing for something, anything good to happen to relieve the emptiness of life. I was reminded of Chekhov and Dostoyevsky. It is almost Bunuelian in its feeling but, unlike Bunuel, it is not dark comedy, just dark.

    The unspoken backdrop is the recent history of Argentina, an unending nightmare of political violence, social unrest, and fiscal disaster. Only the children give us any hope for the future. It is a compelling picture of class arrogance with an ending as moving as any I've seen. Strongly recommended but bring a lot patience and a de-humidifier.
    helpful•68
    5
    • howard.schumann
    • Apr 24, 2002

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 12, 2001 (Argentina)
    • Countries of origin
      • Argentina
      • France
      • Spain
      • Japan
    • Official site
      • NZZ Online - Neue Zürcher Zeitung
    • Language
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • The Swamp
    • Filming locations
      • Salta, Argentina
    • Production companies
      • 4k Films
      • Wanda Visión S.A.
      • Cuatro Cabezas
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $270,811
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 43 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • DTS-Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    La Ciénaga (2001)
    Top Gap
    By what name was La Ciénaga (2001) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in August
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Double Take: Celebrity Twins
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Back to top
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.