Contemporary World Cinema | 2016 | 80 minutes
Stranger Says:
Marcos is the 18-year-old son of an Argentinian cattle rancher, and he likes to dress as his female alter ego, Marilyn. His family, and especially his mother, hate Marilyn, and this hatred is fodder for many sad plot points. The film is a slow burn, with perhaps too many shots of lingering, sorrowful glances from men with pretty eyes. Americans, who are becoming increasingly accustomed to queer films that are post-hate, could find the film’s humorlessness to be heavy-handed. But its payoff is worth it, and Marcos’s true story is one that deserves to be witnessed.
by Chase Burns
SIFF Says:
With an affection for women’s dresses and a naturally sensitive demeanor, Marcos (newcomer Walter Rodríguez in an astonishing debut) knows he was not made for a life as a tenant rancher, tending livestock and fending off poachers in the beautiful, unforgiving Argentinian countryside. Starved for connection and finding release just once a year during carnival, Marcos has an unexpected ally in his kindly father Carlos (Germán de Silva, LAS ACACIAS, WILD TALES), who pushes his son toward education and a future outside their small, provincial town. But when Carlos dies suddenly, responsibility quickly falls on Marcos and his older brother Carlitos (Ignacio Giménez) to assume their father’s role, learning the trade, keeping the troubled ranch afloat-and placating their stern, demanding mother Olga (Catalina Saavedra, THE MAID). With financial and social pressures mounting, Marcos finds a ray of light in a budding relationship with Federico (Andrew Bargsted, SIFF 2016 award winner YOU’LL NEVER BE ALONE, SIFF 2017’s BAD INFLUENCE) yet finds himself unable to escape forces keeping him from being the person he was meant to be, leading to an unforgettable conclusion in this powerful debut feature from co-writer/director Martín Rodríguez Redondo, based on the incredible true story.
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