Visions Du Reel 2020 - Las Ranas

Las Ranas, directed by Edgardo Castro, is an often brutally saddening, albeit gripping and profound, insight into the life of the Argentine prison system and its effects on family and relationships.

 Castro's feature could very easily have delved into the more predictable and conventional avenue of exploring the character of the incarcerated. In fact, it does so with that expectation in mind. Only it slowly pans to the primary role of the feature after the film engulfs itself in the testosterone-fuelled prologue.

While not necessarily a rudimentary arc, or one which follows the conventional male character, it does not add the depth and weight of the loved ones left. It does not consider those who remain to continue in a state of constant influx of the unknown, of which Las Ranas explores fluently and to extreme gravity.

 By choosing to follow the incarnated characters’ love interest, Barbara, the audience is shown a deeply layered and poignant arc of gravitas and trauma, one that often affects those who have no voice. It is a factor that is purposely avoided in stating far into the feature to concrete the character’s invisibility in her social circle, Castro is consciously aware that he rarely gives a voice to the leading female characters.  However, he does a compelling job of showcasing the gender repression and expectation of women and their place in Argentine society as Invisibles.

The feature is crafted in a documentarian aesthetic by cinematographer, Yarará Rodríguez and edited by Susana Leunda. The visuals often blend into what feels like the reality in multiple scenes. The trauma and heartbreaking scenarios that Barbara finds herself in are even more poignant and intensified as the film effectively elevates and heightens the already agonising material. 

Barbara often disappears into the background or is used excessively as a place holder to raise her child and complete housework. This is all while being pushed psychologically and physically to the behest of her father's child in supporting him by illegally smuggling drugs and money, to name just a few, via her anatomy.

Edgardo Castro's feature, Las Ranas, is undeniably a difficult film to witness but is one with reason and reflection of the silent and lost souls. Captured in a tremendously striking aesthetic with a stunning and seamless central performance, Castro brings a poignancy and representation to those with no voice.