BATAKLIK

In Salta, Argentina, Mecha and her family’s holiday is coming to an end. Time becomes distended, punctuated by naps around the stagnant water of the pool, visits from cousins and children playing war in the jungle. A muted tension and a series of incidents slowly begin to disrupt the family order.

Coagulating into a deft critique of conservative Argentina, murky water, red wine, and blood trickle across Lucrecia Martel’s miasmic, impressive debut. The first entry in a loose trilogy set in her native Salta, La ciénaga made an indelible mark on global art cinema at the turn of the millennium.