The film, directed by Lucrecia Martel, plays out in such a loose - almost random - manner that it appears to have no central narrative but actually it is quite an expertly controlled piece of work that is perceptive on many levels.

Primarly the film is about two families. One living in the country on the outskirts of the jungle. The other living in the city. The country family is in complete disarray. The mother (Graciela Borges ) and father (Martin Adejmian ) are always drunk and seemingly in full decline, while their four teenage kids run around the house and the nearby mountains half clothed dealing with the summer heat. The city family is younger - they have four unruly kids but seem to be a little more together.

La Cienaga does not follow a by-the-book narrative but does have a center to it about the nature of humanity. Or more particularly the way in which human beings are part and parcel to nature that is around them. The tangled bushes and trees that make up the mountain forest appear to creep ever closer to the lives of everyone in the film as do ominous dark clouds pregnant with rain. The film seems to say that the characters cannot escape their true nature as human animals locked into the environment they inhabit and make for themselves. In this case the life of the provincial middle class who have lost their way, drink themselves into a stupor and only dream of going to Bolivia to buy cheaper goods.

The film is episodic. One girl - Momi - loves the house maid - a native Indian whom here mother has contempt for; She follows her everywhere. Another girl - Veronica -seems to have a thing for her older brother - they play around alot. All the other kids interact with each other, mess around, lay about the rundown pool, go into the mountains with rifles and shoot anything that moves. Then they come home get into a fight, go sleep it off and then get up to play again. Meanwhile life goes on and the jungle creeps ever closer.

There are many references within the fim that suggest metaphorical overtones. For instance over the period that the film takes place there has been a reported citing of the Virgin Mary on a water tank that sits over a poor neighborhood in the city. But one would have to really connect the dots to find a direct meaning. And considering that the director says - in her director's statement - that "there are no hidden truths nor a link between cause and effect in the events" then one has to take her at her word.

La Cienaga is a well made, enjoyable, humorous and sometimes tragic film that reveals more on subsequent viewings and in general is an interesting place to hang out for 100 minutes.

Video:
The DVD is presented in 1.85:1 and is excellent. The film has a grainy quality to it which really brings out the skin tones and the darker naturally lit rooms.

Audio:
In Stereo Spanish with English subtitles. No soundtrack but plenty of off camera noises and foley sound that adds a dimension to the experience of the film.

Extras:
There is an award winning short film by the director titled Rey Muerto about a woman trying to leave her abusive husband. It's clearly a first film but has style. There is a a short director's statement as well as a trailer for the film. On the inside jacket is aperceptive essay by critic B Ruby Rich

Overall:
La Cienaga is admitedly not for everyone. But if you are curious about the revival of Argentinian cinema with a nod toward some of the great European directors of the 50's and 60's and a non-conventional but interesting and perceptive narrative then this is a DVD worth looking at.