Two families try to make the best of a bad situation as they suffer
through a crippling heat wave in this neo-realistic drama, featuring a
primarily non-professional cast. Tali (Mercedes Moran) is minding four
small children with little help from her husband, who is preoccupied
with the opening of hunting season, as a record hot spell grips
Argentina. Things aren't much better for her cousin Mecha (Graciela
Borges), who is looking after four teenagers and a husband (Martin
Adjemian) who can hardly be bothered to help out, but Mecha
does
have a pool, even if it hasn't been cleaned in quite a while. Tali and
her brood end up spending much of the summer with Mecha as the town is
riveted by the appearance of the Virgin Carmen on the city's water
tower, and a series of thunderstorms add an awful humidity to the
summer's unbearable heat. While seemingly improvised, La Cienaga was
actually carefully scripted by
Lucrecia Martel, who won a screenwriting award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival prior to making her directorial debut with this feature.
