The Swamp

La Ciénaga

La Ciénaga

La Ciénaga

Martel was a director previously unknown to me, and finding this film is one of life's wonderful little discoveries. Cienaga "The Swamp" buzzes with life and a kind of vibrancy that we don't get to see very often, especially not from Hollywood films which almost pride themselves in their sterility. Dirt, grime, sweat, rain, blood and tears cake every scene, and characters float in and out of the foggy Argentinian landscapes like lost animals. It recalls Bunuel's Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, where the characters are sometimes found walking the nameless road to nowhere - with a feeling that in this strange zone of unhappiness they are all trapped and unable to leave its perimeters. Terrific on every level.

For Christine «Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness»… (Billy Joel) A friend who recommended the film La Cienaga, (2001) aka The Swamp, described it as «a film with guts.» His description proved to be accurate and it most certainly took Lucrecia Martel, first time Argentinian director/writer, guts to make it. Based on memories of her family, and shot entirely in Martel's home town, Salta, in northern Argentina, The Swamp is a confident and skillful piece of filmmaking that draws quite a pessimistic picture of decline and degradation of Argentinian upper-middle class. The atmosphere of indifference and apathy oozes from every square inch of the screen, underlining all facets of the empty existence of the characters in the movie. Intense and moody, The Swamp is not an easy film to watch, but like the eponymous swamp, it sucks you in and does not let you forget its anti- heroes-the bored, weak, dirty and detestable adults and their offspring of all ages, all of whom are spending their summer vacation in a crumbling country house which has seen better times. This is not an action film, nor does it have much of a story; however, the Swamp delivers a visceral and direct assault to the senses that transforms the viewer from a distant observer into a reluctant participant in tropical hellish vacation where lives sink into meaningless apathetic drunk stupor to the sound of ice clinking in glasses with red wine and omnipresent image of the dirty and stagnant swimming pool in the background. While undeniably original, as well as personal and intimate, the film brings to mind the themes and the subjects of famous works of art and literature from different cultures. References to A.P. Chekhov's dramas, The Cherry Orchard and Three Sisters, whose main themes are decay of the privileged class and the effect social change has on people, are apparent. Martel may have been also inspired by Macondo, a fictional town described in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude. The similarities in the themes of rise, decline, and inevitable fall of once thriving and successful families are noticeable. But instead of mythical incessant downpour that destroyed the Buendia family home and brought the downfall and disappearance of Macondo from the face of the earth in the Marquez's powerful novel, it is smoldering heat that overpowers everything and everybody in The Swamp. It crawls under the skin, envelops the souls and the minds, and melts away thoughts, desires, and dreams, leaving only decay and hopelessness. The family estate, once a prosperous, imposing, grand building became a run- down house while the owners limply sprawled poolside on their deck chairs, too tired, bored, and inert to care. You would expect the children and teenagers in the movie, with their natural curiosity, budding sexuality, and lust for life to bring a sense of hope and happiness, a breath of fresh air, but sadly, not in The Swamp. Left to their own devices, they wander aimlessly in the labyrinths of loneliness, as they face their own demons of growing up. It would seem that misery and failure, like contagious diseases, pass down from generation to generation and lurk on the surface of the estate's fetid, filthy, ominous swimming pool.

I didn't know anything about the film before seeing it. Not sure if I would have watched it, knowing what I know now. The opening scene really grabbed me. The lack of family members' interest, even reacting to one of their own falling and becoming seriously injured. Some right there don't even seem to know anything has happened. After that incident however, I get lost. The host of characters, the intermingling of seemingly unconnected story lines and the sheer number of players confused me to no end. A family tree or some kind of chart depicting relationships would have been helpful. Aboout 40 minutes into the film some understanding developed, so what! I became bored. After reading other user comments it seems this film can only be appreciated by those having a deep understanding of the culture and economics of the Argentine sub-culture it reflects. So now I can better understand but still feel my time viewing it was wasted.

Lucrecia Martel's "La Cienega" is an utterly boring look at a petit-bourgeois family that is so devoid of life, you wonder why they don't all just jump into a pool of quicksand and drown. There's no life in any of the scenes or characters, nothing but mundanity. The children have examples of sadism in them, when they shoot a cow stuck in mud; they are found roaming the forest doing nothing in particular. The beginning of the film finds the matriarch boozing it up at the pool with a bunch of equally lethargic friends. She slips and cuts her chest, and that is the major plot point, that and sitting in bed, driving in old jalopy cars, or doing nothing at all. A lot of wine drinking completes the tediously long scenes. The family lives on some estate somewhere in South America, where Indians are insulted. The Indians are not much better, going to parties to brawl or drink or play pool or hack up fish in the waters by a dam. You'll have a hard time getting to the end since it drags along. The children are selfish, spoiled brats. There's no "brilliance" or luminosity in this film at all. The extras include a film by the director Lucrecia Martel, where she boasts about her film. Also some film by the pretentious windbags of the "New Argentine Cinema" is found. A small booklet by another pretentious intellectual, who raves about how great Lucrecia Martel's "La Cienega", is also stuck with the DVD. This is a thoroughly average film despite what the reviews might claim about it.

I usually don't rate any movie below 5 as long as I can still watch them from the beginning to the end. however, this movie is really boring, since I don't know any of the actors, it feels as if I am watching a bad edited reality show. Sure, there are those people who are talking, arguing, etc, but what is the purpose of this movie, I don't understand. It could be that because I have never been to that country, so I don't really know about their culture. Still, I have seen plenty of foreign movies, some are just so emotional. After watching this movie, I didn't feel a thing about this movie, there is nothing memorable about it at all. And I am surprised about this high rating for this movie. Basic Instinct 2 is much better than this one for sure, but it only has about 4.

excerpt, more at my location - La Cienaga, or The Swamp, is the debut film from Argentine filmmaker Lucrecia Martel. Originally released in 2001, the film announced the arrival of a unique new voice within international cinema. Finally granted a DVD release in the UK, it shows that the director of The Holy Girl and The Headless Woman had emerged with her distinctive and uncompromising vision of cinema already fully formed. Beneath the surface banality of La Cienaga lies a resonant and troubling picture, the work of a filmmaker with a considered and singular artistic vision. Even if Martel's particular vision is likely to repel as many as it attracts, her film possesses a lingering, haunting power. Not especially enjoyable, but undeniably affecting.

this movie is not for morons. it's a bit, you know, slow. It's a bit, you know, weird. It might even make you have to think. The bottom line is, look at your list of favorite films and if, for the most part, they're completely predictable, formulaic and obvious, do not waste your time with La Cienaga. You're just gonna feel annoyed by it. I don't care if you think you're smart (in reference to someone's comment about "even people at Berkley walked out" -- berkley's got its fair share of stagnant dolts, trust me). Be honest with yourself; because this film is pretty merciless, and if you have any weaknesses in comprehension, empathy, openmindedness or imagination, you're gonna feel really bored/uncomfortable watching this. The only fault I have with this film is that it has no sense of humor. But for some reason I don't miss it here. It's a mood piece that doesn't try very hard to please.