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Movies / On DVD / The Headless Woman
The Headless Woman

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The Headless Woman (2009)

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Reviews Counted:22

Fresh:13

Rotten:9

Average Rating:6.4/10

Consensus: Careful and slight, Lucretia Martel's Headless Woman doesn't fit neatly into a clear storyline, but supports itself with ethereal visuals.

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: After only three features, Lucrecia Martel has firmly established herself as one of world cinema's most distinctive visionaries. Following up on her subliminally atmospheric LA CIENAGA and THE HOLY... After only three features, Lucrecia Martel has firmly established herself as one of world cinema's most distinctive visionaries. Following up on her subliminally atmospheric LA CIENAGA and THE HOLY GIRL, Martel goes even deeper into cinematic obliqueness with THE HEADLESS WOMAN. The story concerns Veronica (Maria Onetto), who accidentally hits something while driving one day. To the viewer, it appears to be a dog, but Veronica is unable to shake the fear that she killed a young boy. As the days wear on, she has trouble recalling even the most basic details of her life, to the point where she appears to be suffering from amnesia. Or is she simply trying to deny the truth about what really happened? All signs point to her being in the clear, yet just when she begins to feel okay another mysterious coincidence arises that makes her doubt herself once again. Martel challenges viewers in a way that will cause many to scratch their heads, but this is clearly calculated behavior on her part. By using clever sound design and exquisitely framed images, she creates a palpable tension that makes THE HEADLESS WOMAN feel like a most unlikely thriller. She is also driven by a desire to expose the horrific divides in Argentina's class system, making the film as much a work of social commentary as a fine example of thought-provoking entertainment. THE HEADLESS WOMAN is a film that demands multiple viewings to break through its mysterious surface. [More]

Starring: Guillermo Arengo, Cesar Bordon, Claudia Cantero, Ines Efron

Starring: Guillermo Arengo, Cesar Bordon, Claudia Cantero, Ines Efron, Daniel Genoud, Maria Onetto, Maria Vaner

Director: Lucrecia Martel

Director: Lucrecia Martel
Screenwriter: Lucrecia Martel
Producer: Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin Almodovar, Esther Garcia, Verónica Cura, Enrique Pineyro, Lucrecia Martel, Marianne Slot, Vieri Razzini, Cesare Petrillo, Tilde Corsi
Studio: Strand Releasing

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Reviews for The Headless Woman

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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One of the film's great strengths is Martel's compressed visual power. Her ability to capture the disorientation of seeing the world from the seclusion of a car's interior is strangely compelling...

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
10/23/09
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Seattle Times

May be the decade's greatest zombie movie

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
10/06/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

Martel -- having listed Herk Harvey's ultra-low-budget 1962 horror film Carnival of Souls as a favorite -- has now more or less remade it as an "art film": that is, she's slathered the pretentiousness on so thick that all the fun is gone.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
09/20/09
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Christian Science Monitor

It moves in a disappointing direction away from Martel's previous features La Ciénaga (2001) and The Holy Girl (2004).

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
09/18/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Martel's vision is so visually rich and complex it borders on the impressionistic, but The Headless Woman would be nowhere without the precise tour de force performance by Onetto.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
09/18/09
G. Allen Johnson
G. Allen Johnson
San Francisco Chronicle

A parabolic Argentine film about a woman who proves that the rich can get away with murder.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
09/04/09
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Martel rips Antonioniennui off its foundations by refusing to throw the audience a bone of indentification via the disorienting effects of lust/love.

Full Review Source: SpoutBlog | comment Comment
09/03/09
Karina Longworth
Karina Longworth
SpoutBlog

This subtle and compact short story affirms that the hovering hands and exquisitely layered sound design of her previous film weren't accidents but the unusually precise creations of an exciting new filmmaker.

Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment Comment
09/01/09
Robert Davis
Robert Davis
Paste Magazine

Martel is a very minor art-filmmaker. Not especially insightful, she exemplifies the second-rate aesthetics of underdeveloped cultures. Her over-subtle approach hides the superficiality of her dull, dull style.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
08/26/09
Armond White
Armond White
New York Press

Ethereal to a fault. Consternation carries the day.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
08/21/09
John P. McCarthy
John P. McCarthy
Boxoffice Magazine

The Headless Woman settles into the episodic without the necessary character development - it's a slice of life too slight for its own good.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
08/21/09
Matthew Sorrento
Matthew Sorrento
Film Threat

A full appreciation of Lucrecia Martel’s elegant, rain-soaked film, The Headless Woman, requires the concentration and eye for detail of a forensic detective.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/20/09
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An initially intriguing, well-shot psychological drama with diminishing suspense. It eventually starts to drag, leaving you feeling concurrently frustrated and underwhelmed.

Full Review Source: NYC Movie Guru | comment Comment
08/20/09
Avi Offer
Avi Offer
NYC Movie Guru

The movie isn't interested in moral judgments or lessons, just unflinching observation. Groove on the eerie vibe, then draw your own conclusions.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
08/19/09
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

An astounding portrait of a person entirely out of sync with her own existence.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
08/19/09
Keith Uhlich
Keith Uhlich
Time Out New York

I have seen the film three times now and each time I find myself concentrating more closely

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/19/09
Chris Cabin
Chris Cabin
Filmcritic.com

Effective as social critique and character study, Martel's third film is her most original and challenging to date, a work in which form, style, and tone are congruent in depicting social and moral disorientation.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
08/18/09
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

The lead actress, María Onetto, holds you through the longueurs.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
08/17/09
David Edelstein
David Edelstein
New York Magazine

"The Headless Woman" might have gained unworthy praise at film festivals, but it isn't worthy of market approval.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
08/17/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

As dense and fluid as Martel's movie is, the viewer -- like the protagonist -- is compelled to live in the moment. And a rich moment it is.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
08/11/09
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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