La Ciénaga

Of all the South American filmmakers who comprise the New Latino Cinema -- sentimental Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries), audience favorite Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá También) and hipster Alejandro González Inárritu (Amores Perros) -- it's Argentina's Lucrecia Martel who represents the south-of-the-border film movement's avant-garde heart.

Her debut feature, La Ciénaga, is a lush, dreamlike and unforgettable look at an upper-class family, including Mecha (Graciela Borges), the fiftysomething family matriarch who spends her days getting drunk by its filthy pool with her husband, Gregorio (Martin Adjemián), wasting away on their rundown country estate, La Mandragora.

Place is as important as character in La Ciénaga, and it's worth noting that the film is set in the northwestern Argentina town of Salta, Martel's hometown. Her familiarity for the place is evident in the film's details.

Cinematographer Hugo Colace brings added shimmer to the overwhelming February heat and household mess, especially the scattered tumblers filled with wine.

Because La Ciénaga received a limited release in the United States, its DVD will be the first opportunity for many to experience Martel's wondrous work.

Bonus DVD features include Martel's short film, Rey Muerto (1995), a straightforward melodrama compared to the surreal La Ciénaga.

Atmosphere is everything in Martel's films. The decrepit swimming pool in La Ciénaga, like the hotel in her new film La Niña Santa, which opens in the U.S. this year, reveals Martel's focus for places that have seen better days. In one swift film, Martel proves herself a worthy descendent of Luis Buñuel and an emerging master filmmaker. And the Rest
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