Last week I caught a film that completely blew me away - Lucrecia Martel's The Headless Woman (La Mujer Sin Cabeza) - and I wasn't planning on writing about it because its run was supposed to end today. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out this morning that it's been held over through September 15th! Here's the official synopsis:
"A mysterious and intriguing tale of a woman who may have killed someone or something while driving on a dirt road. Dazed and confused, she tries to piece together what happened..."
The film is a brilliant visual masterpiece that needs the audiences' consistently active attention in order to fully understand and immerse oneself in all of its puzzling and intricate plot details. Director Martel ignores many conventional film norms and presents her story in a mesmerizing way - shooting most of the film in tight close-ups and eschewing the need for establishing shots - while framing her subjects in odd, off-balance compositions. Martel also never "spoon feeds" information to the viewer, instead relying on us to catch the details of the action and the subtleties between the characters on our own. She beautifully subverts conventions in narrative and turns what would ordinarily be a straightforward "mystery/thriller" into a deeper and more affecting experience.
The Headless Woman is playing at Film Forum (209 West Houston St.) until September 15th. The praise has been almost unanimous, so if you live in the city, you should opt out of dreck like this and go check out this unbelievable film.
sounds great, maybe its in LA? otherwise, you'll have to produce a bootleg copy for me
ReplyDeleteApparently it opens tomorrow in several LA theaters. I think you'd enjoy it a lot.
ReplyDeletehey jose- where's your next post?? have you died?
ReplyDeleteHaha I've been busy! I'm flattered by your craving for my words, though. New post is up!
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