Click to read the article
La Ciénaga (2001)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:36
Fresh:31
Rotten:5
Average Rating:6.9/10
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: This Argentinean tale, which revolves around a group of families passing summer vacation in a rural country house, does not rely on a concrete plotline, but rather roves, rambles, and stumbles upon... This Argentinean tale, which revolves around a group of families passing summer vacation in a rural country house, does not rely on a concrete plotline, but rather roves, rambles, and stumbles upon each new event. The most notable characteristic of LA CIÉNAGA is its mood--a brooding, dreadful, fearsome tension that does not wain or cease even in the very last moment of the film. No event, no action, no exchange of words, no scene of the movie is more or less important than another. Instead, the film continues nonsequentially in what feels like a prolonged wait. Using gorgeous, realistic photography--of green mountains against a grayish humid sky, of the bright colors of summer swimsuits and shorts stained with blood or mud, of the simultaneously beautiful and disgusting human body--Lucrecia Martel's oeuvre is about strings of images and the suggestion of potential meanings. Never, however, does the director step over the line and reveal too much to her viewers. As characters come and go from the film's focus, maintaining a chilly distance from the viewer, LA CIÉNAGA unfurls slowly, languorously, and without closure. [More]
Starring: Mercedes Moran, Martin Adjemian, Leonora Balcarce, Silvia Bayle
Starring: Mercedes Moran, Martin Adjemian, Leonora Balcarce, Silvia Bayle, Juan Cruz Bordeu, Noelia Bravo Herrera, Maria Micol Ellero, Andrea Lopez
Director: Lucrecia Martel
Director: Lucrecia Martel
Screenwriter: Lucrecia Martel
Studio: Code Red
Reviews for La Ciénaga
"La Cienaga" literally means the swamp, and the film feels it: a hothouse atmosphere of heat waves and rainstorms and the mired feeling of life stuck in a social bog.
Experiencing this film ultimately becomes as stimulating as watching metal rust.
[Martel's] technique works, often brilliantly, in depicting the hyper-real, unsettling atmosphere of a sometimes normal, potentially violent, mostly sick family.
There's a real energy in the way that La Cienaga takes nothing for granted -- except your attention and your intelligence.
La Cienaga is well worth the trouble finding -- and sitting through -- wherever it plays.
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| 19% 19% | Transformers: Revenge … |
| 55% 55% | Orphan |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 67% 67% | Brüno |
| 47% 47% | My Sister's Keeper |
| 65% 65% | Is Anybody There? |
| 83% 83% | Thirst |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- La Ciénaga at Rotten Tomatoes
- La Ciénaga at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

