Trenque Lauquen Parte I Reviews (original) (raw)

Summary The search for a missing woman unspools in two unexpectedly interconnected parts in Laura Citarella's playful new feature. The missing woman is Laura (Laura Paredes), a biologist cataloging plant species in and around the Argentinean city of Trenque Lauquen. The men searching for her: Rafael, her boyfriend, and Ezequiel, a coworker who h...

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There are similarities with the mumblecore science fiction of Shane Carruth’s Upstream Colour and The Endless, but Trenque Lauquen daringly stakes out its own spooky terrain.

With the verve of a master classical storyteller, Citarella stages the unfolding of this eccentric mystery while processing the dizzying flow of information with a grace and precision that will have you hanging on every frame.

The pleasure lies in the telling — the invention of fictions, the performance of emotions — rather than in the details of plot. Once you lose yourself in the thickets of “Trenque Lauquen,” you won’t want to be found.

Throughout the film, Laura Citarella emphasizes the liberating quality of following the rabbit hole as deep as it goes.

Long movies are not necessarily good or even ambitious; Trenque Lauquen is both. Notwithstanding a few minutes that could be shed here and there, everything from its sweet, intriguing Part I, the strategically placed and electrifying title sequence, and deliciously ominous Part II feel purposeful, organic.

Argentinian director Laura Citarella’s Trenque Lauquen is an enigmatic, semi-absurdist puzzle that defies the allure of narrative solution in favour of the liberation of loose ends.

Lengthy it may be, but this is light-of-touch fare, provocative and satisfyingly enigmatic, and though it feels like a four-hour MacGuffin, it remains an accomplished, literary and self-referential exercise in narrative deferral.

An almost surreal experience full of layers that takes you through a labyrinth in which it is a treat to get lost. A beautifully filmed and unpredictable narrative masterpiece. What begins as an unconventional love story that alludes to metanarrative soon transforms into a fantastical mystery with an absurdist tone. An exploration of the eternal search for meaning and the power of stories. It would make for a very 'Twin Peaks' style series.

Production Company

El Pampero Cine
Grandfilm

Release Date Apr 21, 2023

Duration 2 h 9 m

International Cinephile Society Awards

• 4 Wins & 4 Nominations

Mar del Plata International Film Festival

• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations

Latino Entertainment Journalists Association Film Awards