The Mirada Invisible (2010)

Directed by: Diego Lerman | 95 minutes | drama | Actors: Julieta Zylberberg, Osmar Nuñez, Marta Lubos, Gaby Ferrero, Diego Vegezzi, Pablo Sigal, Vanina Montes

The opening scene of ‘La mirada invisible’ (‘The Invisible Eye’), Diego Lerman’s third feature, has an almost otherworldly feel. We see the interior of a beautiful baroque building, the floor spotless and shiny from the recent cleaning. The building turns out to house a secondary school and when class is over, not a swarm of relieved youth storms out, their bags casually slung over their shoulders, meanwhile chatting about the plans for that afternoon or evening. Instead, we see them standing neatly in line waiting for a young woman, barely out of puberty herself, to lead the way. The teenagers of about eighteen, in school uniform, obediently and silently follow the woman who leads them through the building on their way to the next lesson.

‘La mirada invisible’ revolves around this 23-year-old María Teresa Cornejo, called Marita by the family, who has to keep the students in line at an extremely strict, elite school. Careful consideration is given to matters such as the distance between students, clothing, and the length of the hair. Impressed by her determination and stern demeanor, her boss, Mr. Biasutto (whose obsequious gaze shows that he has a hidden agenda), asks her to spy on the young students. With full dedication, Marita bites into this new responsibility.

Parallel to the events within the school walls, actual history unfolds in the city where the school is located: ‘La mirada invisible’ takes place in Buenos Aires in March 1982, when the population revolts against the dictatorial rule of the government. . The word rebellion doesn’t seem to be in Marita’s vocabulary. Without compassion, she punishes her pupils when she catches them in a sneaky French kiss or when a fight ensues.

The beautiful baroque building in which the story of ‘La mirada invisible’ is mainly set, comes into its own thanks to the confident and detailed cinematography of Álvaro Gutiérrez. The camera often follows Marita from a distance. The distant camera work creates the illusion that it is difficult to empathize with the main character, but nothing could be further from the truth. Julieta Zylberberg’s phenomenal performance makes Marita a flesh and blood person. She doesn’t need words to express what she’s feeling and what she’s thinking, but at the same time knows how to express and hide her emotions at a glance, because she’s a reserved woman, which is probably the result of growing up in these political circumstances. Nunez is also very strong in his portrayal of the sneaky Biasutto. With cold colours, the feeling of oppression that lives both inside and outside the school walls is translated to the silver screen and in combination with the sexual frustrations and obsessive feelings, this results in a brooding spectacle, in which the tension under the skin is constantly growing. Until that explosive eruption, which is fired at the viewer with dizzying force and which continues to rumble for a long time. Based on the book “Ciencias Morales” (“Moral Science”) by Martín Kohan, filmmaker Diego Lerman (1976) delivers an impressive business card with ‘La mirada invisible’.