Nordeste
This film is really rather sad. It concerns a single French woman who comes to Argentina to adopt a baby. She travels to Formosa, a forlorn Northern province where most people live in abject poverty and the mafias are in action trafficking babies and organs. As she waits for a suitable baby she crosses paths with a local woman who is bringing up her 11 year old son alone and is threatened with eviction from her cottage in the countryside. 
Apart from being an expose into the baby market in a poor area of the world, there is plenty of input concerning machismo attitudes, feudal governments and the neglect of certain populations. But it is also a personal story of awareness and growth on the part of Helene who realises what it is like to have nothing. The open ending leaves us unsure of what she will do next but she is no doubt changed by her experience. Carole Bouquet 
gives a very satisfying performance in her broken Spanish relying on her eyes and gestures to convey her thoughts. It is possibly one of her best performances. Aymara Rovera is a revelation as Juana and the rest of the cast is fine in supporting roles. Juan Solanas has made a good enough film although it wavers a little in the second half with some uncertainty as to ow to resolve certain issues and an over reliance on stunning sunsets. What he loses on that front he makes up for in social commentary. Worth seeing but not if you feel a bit down!
Read the rest of this entry ... (1 words left)
