Puzzle – Rompecabezas (2009)

Directed by: Natalia Smirnoff | 87 minutes | drama | Actors: María Onetto, Gabriel Goity, Arturo Goetz, Henny Trayles, Felipe Villanueva, Julián Doregger, Nora Zinsky, Marcela Guerty, Mirta Wons

Movies are like a time machine sometimes. The light goes out, the hall is silent and in an hour and a half you experience a mammoth hunt, the fall of Napoleon, the siege of Stalingrad. The Argentine drama ‘Puzzle’ also works like a time machine, but in a different way. Although the film is set in 2009, the scenes take us back to the feminism of the 1970s. It is a time when many feminists believe in the superiority of women, as men have believed for centuries of their own sex (and themselves). also behave accordingly). It is a time for a woman to win a world.

Maria and Juan, the couple at the heart of ‘Puzzle’, are the stereotypical characters from that feminist struggle. Maria does the housework, takes care of children and husband, walks around all day with a worried look but never complains. Juan is bald, loves football, has chest hair and a mustache, flirts with other women, snores and accepts his wife’s good works without ever thanking her for it. Roberto, Maria’s puzzling soul mate, is the artistic type who has no problem showing his feminine side.

All this results in a film that the target group (middle-aged and older women) will undoubtedly like, but which is difficult for other film lovers to digest. This is mainly due to that all too melancholy, all too indolent main character. The solemn movements with which Maria picks up and opens a puzzle and the way she looks at the pieces is very nerve-racking. That this impossibly slow woman is a contender in a puzzle championship, we have to take with a grain of salt.

For those who can identify with Maria and have no problem with lying and cheating on her family, ‘Puzzle’ is definitely recommended. Artisan dialogues, good acting, not a second too short or too long and also a feminist feel-good. If you’re not into old school feminism, it’s best to ignore this film. Crooked toes are not excluded.