Based on the novel by Antonio Di Benedetto written in 1956, on Don Diego de Zama, a Spanish officer of the seventeenth century settled in Asunción, who awaits his transfer to Buenos Aires.
After hitting something with her car, a bourgeois Argentine woman's life slowly descends into paranoia and isolation, as she fears she may have killed someone.
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Based on the novel by Antonio Di Benedetto written in 1956, on Don Diego de Zama, a Spanish officer of the seventeenth century settled in Asunción, who awaits his transfer to Buenos Aires.
The film's premiere was at TIFF in Toronto in September 2017. See more »
Quotes
Gobernador II:
What are you writing?
Fernández:
A book, Governor.
Zama:
We need to draft a letter to be sealed and...
Gobernador II:
A book? A book? Make children, not books. Learn a lesson from our Magistrate, Manuel.
Fernández:
I can't know how my children will be. But I do know how this book will be.
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Soundtracks
Siempre en mi corazón
Performed by Ernesto Lecuona See more »
I decided to watch this movie after reading very mixed reviews. When a film is bashed and praised so extremely at the same time, it cannot help but call one's attention. And I don't regret that decission.
The only way that I explain myself why a such good movie can have so much (bad) criticism will be redacted at the end of this review. First, I'll go with why I enjoyed it so much:
In first instance, novelty assured. There's not many argentinian films surrounding stories settled in latin america's colonial era, and certainly not many films with a poetic narrative for this kind of stories.
If you find films of Eliseo Subiela, Andréi Tarkovsky or Ingmar Bergman to your pleasantness, you will surely love Zama.
The locations are gorgeus, the scenography is extremely well made and the performance from the actors are excellent. Even extras are spot on, except just for few ones, wich at some point aren't exactly standing idle in the background.
Now, why so many people displeased by this film? It's in the eye of the beholder, but a sensible reason is that not many people are accustomed with this kind of narrative, driving them to the boredomness. Wich is perfectly understeneable because everyone has different preferences.
But, there's other kind of critics: The ones that are unfounded.
Most of them comes from argentinian viewers and are new to this kind of movies, even for argentinian movies (that tend to have harsher reviews from their own country's spectators). The explanation for this is very simple: Lucrecia Martel expressed her political point of view about Argentina's goverment lately, followed by a massive backlash from, let's say, the more conservative sectors of the country.
So, don't fear the reaper. Or the internet trolls in this case.
This movie is worth watching.
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I decided to watch this movie after reading very mixed reviews. When a film is bashed and praised so extremely at the same time, it cannot help but call one's attention. And I don't regret that decission. The only way that I explain myself why a such good movie can have so much (bad) criticism will be redacted at the end of this review. First, I'll go with why I enjoyed it so much:
In first instance, novelty assured. There's not many argentinian films surrounding stories settled in latin america's colonial era, and certainly not many films with a poetic narrative for this kind of stories. If you find films of Eliseo Subiela, Andréi Tarkovsky or Ingmar Bergman to your pleasantness, you will surely love Zama. The locations are gorgeus, the scenography is extremely well made and the performance from the actors are excellent. Even extras are spot on, except just for few ones, wich at some point aren't exactly standing idle in the background.
Now, why so many people displeased by this film? It's in the eye of the beholder, but a sensible reason is that not many people are accustomed with this kind of narrative, driving them to the boredomness. Wich is perfectly understeneable because everyone has different preferences.
But, there's other kind of critics: The ones that are unfounded. Most of them comes from argentinian viewers and are new to this kind of movies, even for argentinian movies (that tend to have harsher reviews from their own country's spectators). The explanation for this is very simple: Lucrecia Martel expressed her political point of view about Argentina's goverment lately, followed by a massive backlash from, let's say, the more conservative sectors of the country.
So, don't fear the reaper. Or the internet trolls in this case. This movie is worth watching.