trenque lauquen review
film by Laura Citarella (2022)
Laura Citarella’s new film, “Trenque Lauquen,” casts an ambitious net over its vague and beguiling subjects, formulating into a ubiquitous mystery swelling with lush superabundance. Though its runtime is over 4 hours, it is broken up into 2 separate films, giving those weary of such a time commitment a more welcoming way to watch the film in its entirety. It is one of maybe half a dozen films I have given 5 stars to in 2023 and coincidentally, the 2nd from Argentina and with actress Laura Paredes.
Review by Aaron Jones | April 16, 2024
I often found myself wishing for another set of eyes and ears just to take it all in and entertain the wealth of ideas it was evoking within me, from its peculiar and contagious score to its use of time and long takes observing the insignificant. We begin to fall into deeper communication with Citarella’s work and question even the vaguest insignificance with peering eyes and curious thoughts just as the subjects appear to be doing themselves, and we enter a mirrored consciousness as the film begins to mirror its own stories within the narrative. It was here I realized with each new concept I grasp onto within this film and run with it there are dozens more surpassing me, moving in every perceivable direction.
The narrative takes on its own form and serpentine flow through layered correspondence crossing time-frames that lead us down paths we are not necessarily meant to solve but instead question its methods. Questioning the roads we have chosen, why do we chase ghosts and search for individuals and subjects that don’t want to be found? Is it for their egos or ours? Do our obsessions drive us? Are they motivated by passion or our need to control? And are we so unconscious of what pulls us that we have no idea why? A perplexing journey into the differences between men and women nurturement and control, and as offsetting as it is enigmatic.
While much can be filtered through its decoding, a lot is left open for interpretation. While it was abundantly clear when touching on our own obsessions and our need for answers through our own habitual aim to sensationalize what which we cannot find answers to as opposed to being pragmatic, it makes an example of our irrational selves and much of the film’s stance seems to echo psycho-analyzation giving pause to the portrait of Freud that appears on the wall even if seen for a momentary glimpse.
It refuses to be weighed down by genre or a specific style, carrying an elusive transference within its enigmatic seduction that denies its audience any sense of cyclic formalities or closure. It is not concerned with tying up loose ends for the satisfaction of closing doors to achieve completion rather, it offers us rich layers of pretext and metaphorical themes in between where every detour and rabbit hole it finds itself in intoxicates its audience with a sort of cinematic amnesia where each new turn and thematic revelation is more enriching than the one previous. And when we look back and assess our footsteps, we become aware that the passage we have just embarked on has its own rhythm and grammar that, as a whole, rhymes with every elevation and descent.
Laura Citarella is a name I will be reserving a permanent position in my mental Rolodex from now on as she has achieved a film so rich and puzzling thematically and visually that I know there was so much more to sink my teeth into, but I was so transfixed and drawn into this visual allegory that I became swept away in the moment. Letting so much detail fall to the wayside due to its thematic overabundance, genre-bending cryptic vernacular, and altogether tangential wavelength, I will need to revisit this one just to grasp its enormity.
Author
Reviewed and published by Aaron Jones. Based in California, he developed a passion for film from a young age and has since viewed over 10,000 films. Curently serves as a film critic at CinemaWaves, he has contributed to other publications as well. Feel free to follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
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