Ever since his opera prima, Vil romance, Argentine filmmaker José Celestino Campusano has achieved a number of recurring traits that have turned him into distinctive auteur: a narrative that focuses on the dark side of Greater BA, parading before the camera a gallery of youths, criminals, outsiders, corrupted officials and losers involved in doomed love stories and visceral personal liaisons. Also, the emphasis is on raw feelings rather than reason as the spark that ignites the characters’ doings.
As regards aesthetics, expect an austere and realistic mise-en-scene, real locations instead of studio settings, and a realistic sound design with little — if any — incidental music. Furthermore, the dialogue is fairly colloquial dialogue and non-professional actors are cast for all roles.
But with his new film Placer y martirio, winner of the Argentine Competition’s Best Director Award at this year’s BAFICI, Campusano has taken quite a different road — for better or worse. This time he focuses on the emotional problems of the well-to-do members of the upper-middle class, in this case neglected women, forgetful husbands and lonely teenagers.
You could say that lack of love is what ails Delfina (Natacha Méndez), a 45-year-old professional woman with plenty of money, a teen daughter, and a dying marriage. Through a friend, she meets an older man, a supposed entrepreneur — but in fact a manipulator — with whom she’ll soon have an affair, somewhat torrid at first, yet ultimately disappointing and vacuous. One way or the other, bliss is not to be found.
And the change in the director’s style is also to be seen in a more conventional set of aesthetics: scenes are developed with a tighter dramatic grip, the dialogue is somewhat stylized and so is the acting, the cinematography is far more polished and the camerawork is tidier. So his previous raw, rudimentary style — which was voluntary — has vanished into thin air. Which is not a bad thing at all, for the filmmaker is embarking on a different road with enough balance and firmness to deliver a decent feature.
That said, it’s equally true that the conflicts themselves are not as stirring and profound as the material allows for. In a sense, the ups and downs of these new characters are the stuff that melodrama is made of, but they are played in a low-key manner which often fails to elicit strong emotions. On the other hand, sometimes you even feel you are watching regular soap opera fare. Also, there is not a small number of clichés that take away much of the surprise element, and the morality tale itself is not persuasive.
Without a doubt, Placer y martirio goes for a narrative that you may presume will become more complex, daring and deep as new films are made. So far, a number of flaws diminish the overall impact of the film’s premise.
