El eslabón podrido is a politically incorrect film, blending horror, drama and black comedy
POINTS: 7
Set in an Argentine hamlet in the middle of nowhere, El eslabón podrido (The Rotten Link), directed by Javier Valentín Diment, tells the story of Roberta (Paula Brasca), an attractive young girl who works as a prostitute in the local brothel/bar, Raulo (Luis Ziembrowski), an adult man with moderate mental retardation, and their mom, Ercilia (Marilú Marini), a somewhat senile witch-doctor of sorts who keeps warning her daughter against having sex with every man in town. For if she does, she will be no longer be of any use to the villagers — and that will get her killed.
Of course, such a curse is not to be taken lightly, although there’s no proof whatsoever that it could actually happen. Nonetheless, there’s an overall feeling of impending doom in the village since there’s only one man left Roberta hasn’t had sex with. And this one man, Sicilio (Germán de Silva) doesn’t want to be left out. If she doesn’t agree to have sex with him for money — just like she does with all the other patrons of the hamlet’s seedy bar — then he’ll have to force her, because that’s how Sicilio’s sick mind works.
Winner of the Audience Award at Sitges and the Best Film Award at Fantaspoa and FANT Bilbao, El eslabón podrido is an improvement over Diment’s previous feature, the uneven yet somewhat inventive horror flick La memoria del muerto, which had some important assets regarding visuals and production design, but was often flawed in the narrative. This time, with El eslabón podrido, the filmmaker doesn’t go for a horror film in strict terms — that is until the very ending when uncontrolled rage gives way to a splendid display of bloody carnage and over-the-top gore, which is very uncommon in local cinema.
Stylish and with a heavy dose of dark humour, Diment’s politically incorrect feature first takes a somewhat grotesque edge that turns preposterous at times or downright painfully realistic. There’s also plenty of melodrama, black comedy, sheer drama, horror, and exploitation. For the most part, it all blends in smoothly and doesn’t feel contrived. What I found most attractive is the amusingly impertinent, tongue-in-cheek attitude that makes El eslabón podrido a guilty pleasure.
Though slightly uneven in the actor’s performances — some of them are right on cue, such as that of Marilú Marini, Luis Ziembrowski, and Paula Brasca, yet others sometimes seem to inhabit a different movie — with some characters that are not developed at all (e.g. the one played by Lola Berthet) and with a few missteps in keeping a homogeneous tone, Diment’s new opus is still not devoid of formal achievements, starting with its flawless, moody cinematography by Fernando Marticorena, which sets the right atmosphere from the very beginning. Browns, yellows, sepias, and greens make up a textured canvas that creates a mystic all of its own, a bucolic environment that harbours some kinky affairs.
The spotless production design is also to be celebrated. With a small budget and few sets and props, Sandra Iurcovich manages to create a village you are surely not familiar with. A hamlet that not only seems the ideal place for secrets and lies, but also for revenge should anyone mess with Ercilia or her offspring.
production notes
El eslabón podrido (Argentina, 2015). Directed and produced by Valentín Javier Diment. Written by Valentín Javier Diment, Sebastián Cortés, Martín Blousson, with the collaboration of Germán Val. With Luis Ziembrowski, Marilú Marini, Paula Brasca, Germán de Silva, Susana Pampín, Marta Haller, Valentín Javier Diment, Luis Aranosky, Lola Berthet, Sergio Boris. Cinematography: Fernando Marticorena. Art direction: Sandra Iurcovich. Editing: Martín Blousson. Running time: 74 minutes.
