As per the MIFF guide: “In the small town of Trenque Lauquen, a woman named Laura goes missing. As two men in love with her haplessly search for clues, the mystery only deepens and Laura’s story expands: Is it an erotic affair hidden between pages in the local library? A recollection of history’s formidable feminist icons? An affectionate study of rural Argentinian life? A botanical survey of talismanic flowers? Or a supernatural puzzle that has the whole town abuzz?”
Out of all the films I saw at MIFF this year, I was most intimidated by “Trenque Lauquen” due to its epic running time of four hours and twenty minutes. Intimidated and excited actually, because for some reason, I had a really good feeling about the film. Still, there is nothing worse than being stuck in a cinema with a film you hate, where time just stops, feeling like it is never going to end. Knowing the extended running time of “Trenque Lauquen”, it was my biggest fear going into the film. It is not that I am afraid of films with massive running times, it is just that I prefer to watch them in the comfort of my own home, when you can control the viewing situation better. It turns out my fears were unfounded and those good feelings I had about “Trenque Lauquen” were ultimately prophetic as I absolutely loved the film, and for such a long film, it just breezed by.
I think the reason for the success of “Trenque Lauquen” and why it was so easy to sit through was due to the fun atmosphere of the film and with how playful it all was with format. In actuality, the entire story is two films, but I think this has only been done to make it more digestible for cinema goers rather than any story reason, because the film just continues in part two right where it finished off in part one. Either way, MIFF chose to present “Trenque Lauquen” as a single film, playing both parts immediately one after the other. In a way, the film almost plays like a novel in that it is broken down into twelve chapters. What it really reminded me of though was an old silent serial where each new chapter added more fun and intrigue to the storyline. I am quite a big fan of pioneering French filmmaker Louis Feuillade and his silent serials like “Les Vampires”, “Judex” and “Tih Minh”, and to me “Trenque Lauquen” truly felt like an updated modern version of the types of films he used to make one hundred years ago, which I think may be one of the reasons I love this film so much.
Like those serials, director Laura Citarella playfully tells her tale by mixing genres so what you initially think is going to be a straight ahead drama, ends up dipping its toes into other genres like romance, mystery, suspense, horror and even sci-fi (seriously), which is just delightful. It just makes the film so much fun because you never really know where it is going to go next. It is always bubbling away from scene to scene, full of energy, light-hearted and always fun. This is true even when serious things are being explored, like for instance Laura's disappearance. What I think the film is really about are stories themselves, and the importance of storytelling and how telling a person's story keeps that person alive or relevant. There are many times during “Trenque Lauquen” when a story thread begins and is followed for how ever long Citarella sees fit, but doesn't always feel the need to close out that story or thread. It sounds like it could be frustrating for the viewer, all lead up and no pay off, but actually experiencing the film, it turned out to be the opposite as I found it exhilarating, as it was more about the journey than the destination. I know that is a total cliché but I also found it to be true in this case. I think also because each plot strand is followed so genuinely by Citarella and her cast, you are willing as an audience member to go along for the ride too. You feel the same excitement the character's do as they are investigating something, finding clues and making educated conclusions.
A couple of examples of this that I loved was the main thread point (or what initially seems like the main plot) when Laura and Ezequiel find secret letters hidden in books from the local library that are a century old, that expose a secret correspondence between a girl and a man who fall in love. As Laura and Ezequiel continue their search, the plot of the love affair within the letters starts to mirror their own relationship until Laura disappears (just like one of the letter writers themselves do). The investigation between the two is so fun, and involving that you are just in on it with them as they discover things; it feels so real, so much so that Ezequiel is convinced that these letters have something to do with Laura's disappearance. Without giving too much away, eventually the whole thread about the letters becomes less and less of the focus of “Trenque Lauquen” as Citarella moves her story in other directions, but that doesn't dissipate how fun that part was during it. This sort of thing happens a lot during the film, elements at the time that feel really important, end up meaning little or brief things heard in the background of other scenes, suddenly becoming the focal point later on in the film, when initially it felt like they were nothing comments. This brings me to a later part of the film that I wanted to mention that I loved which is the “alligator boy” story. I do not want to ruin the specifics of this part of the plot because it is truly out there, but this is when the film goes “sci-fi”, but again what I loved about it was just how real it all played, despite how ridiculous it all is when you actually stop and think about it. Once again, Laura becomes so involved in the whole story of it all, that we too become fully invested. I remember when “Trenque Lauquen” finished and I was thinking back on it, and I couldn't believe that director Laura Citarella had the balls to include both of these story strands in the same movie, AND get it to work so well! Each plot strand seems to leave behind a little piece of something which starts another fresh strand, which I guess is what life really is, at the end of the day.
From a technical point of view, the film is well made and definitely well acted. The film is shot digitally, which you would expect of something this length, but it really does have that harsh digital look to it at times that I am not a huge fan of. Seeing as how the film is told in a non-linear fashion, editing is paramount to the success of “Trenque Lauquen” and editors Miguel de Zuviria and Alejo Moguillansky do a wonderful job, with the regular changing of times from before and after Laura's disappearance never feeling jarring at all. They also do a fantastic job within scenes to keep the momentum moving so we never feel the four hour running time whilst watching. Probably my favourite contribution to the film though was Gabriel Chwojnik's very playful score which really reflects the changes within the narrative and genre as the film goes along. I particularly got a kick out of just how sci-fi he went with the music as the story heads down that path too. Like the film itself, the music is light, energetic and a whole lot of fun.
You would think that a film about the disappearance of a certain character, that the person playing that character would have little to do, but that is not the case here, as while Laura is the person who goes missing, she is also the main character of “Trenque Lauquen”, and actress Laura Paredes is outstanding in the role. She also co-wrote the film with director Laura Citarella, so you assume that her character is very close to her heart but she doesn't produce a false note in this very long film. You just believe her in every moment even when she is experiencing or reacting to the very unbelievable. In fact, the majority of the cast is excellent, with most of the characters named after the actor that plays them. The only misgiving I have in terms of performance is that of Ezequiel Pierri, who doesn't give a bad performance, but who regularly has this pathetic sad sack, grumpy look on his face throughout most of the film, which often goes against the fun tone of the rest of the film. I just wanted to slap him at times and tell him to stop being a baby, and enjoy the moment you are in!
Overall, whilst I was initially intimidated by the length of “Trenque Lauquen”, I ended up absolutely loving it and thought the film flew by. You might imagine that I have barely scratched the surface of the plot, or indeed the characters of the film, and you would be right because at over four hours long, there is a lot in it and well more than I could ever cover. All you need to know is that director Laura Citarella and her cast have created a super fun film that not only celebrates stories themselves, but also the art of telling those stories. For me, it all just worked wonderfully well, but I am sure that due to its four hour run time, it may be a little divisive in regards to if it all builds to a satisfactory enough ending. For me, the answer is a big fat “YES” and I cannot wait to revisit “Trenque Lauquen” again in the future, sometime soon.
4 Stars.
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