NORDESTE

Directed by Juan Diego Solanas, 2005.

Date: Sep 19th, 2005. Format: Film. Surrounding: Niagara, Tampere.

Adopting a child is a useful theme to sort out ethic and existential differences of the western and, for example, the south american culture. Here we meet a French business woman who wants to have a baby. We don't get the exact reason why she particularly wants or has to adopt it. So, she flies to Buenos Aires with a serious aim to come back as a mother. I read that the director (son of Fernando Solanas) has lived both in Paris and Argentine. It's seemingly his advantage in portraiting believable characters. There is a satisfyingly calm parallel in Solana's discurse when he is depicting both Helene's ambition to become a good mother for a helpless baby and a poor single parent Juana's battle to sort out a better future for his soon pubertetic son in some place else. The two women become friends, and what Helen has to face in her helping hands, is her naivity and awakening to become responsible. Carole Bouquet played the lead part. I don't think I've seen her since she sat secretuflly in the boat in Buffet Froid's (1979) ending. She and Aymará Rovera as Juana played together well. There was a sensible dignity around them, and it seemed it wasn't only floating between the characters. I'm not sure about the end twist at the hospital's corridor, it lacks some emotional power in the tradition of storytelling. But this is a peaceful picture of how worlds collide, and how we are forced to learn and leave our selfish dreams if we want to be a part of the process. ***½