La Soledad - Solitary Fragments is a very quiet film. Jaime Rosales, who directed the film, have drawn on many sources: the family dramas of Ozu, Mondays in the sun – and perhaps even ordinary life and routines unraveled in Jeanne Dielman. It is not a perfect film. It does not always manage to muster up the tension necessary for those very long takes featuring in the film. Solitary fragments is largely a film about women. When men appear, they are always in the background. Two female characters make up the heart of the story. A single mother leaves a safe life to pursue a new career in Madrid. A widowed woman has a conflctual relation with her three daughters.
The cinematography used here is curious. The camera is static. But the events are rarely placed in the very midst of the frame. Instead, they take place half-seen, blocked by doors, sometimes reflected by mirrors. The perspective created often feels unreal, but at the same time all-to-real. I think of Fassbinder and his compulsive use of frames split by objects. In many frames, it’s the same here. But where Fassbinder employs artificiality to make a point, Jaime Rosales work with a dry mode of perception, slightly disorienting, but still very mundane. And usually – it works just fine. This technique forces us to open our eyes, listen, see what is to be seen, use our imagination. As I said, there’s not much drama to speak of here. But when something happens, it comes with a shock, as a jolt in the head of the viewer. I will not reveal anything here, though, as that might destroy your viewing experience.
All in all: it is a beautiful film that you don't want to miss. I heartily recommend it.
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