I really wanted to see this film, since last year it was selected as the best Latin American film at the Sitges Film Festival.
It is a difficult film to categorize, it is a very intimate story, which tells a story from the female point of view, through its protagonist, a married and well-to-do woman. But it has an intriguing atmosphere, which fits as a psychological thriller.
Overall, I liked the film, although it has some shortcomings in the script, especially in the ending. We see some situations that can raise controversy, because some characters can fall into the flat and classist stereotype.
This reminds me of the Mexican film I saw a few months ago, Nuevo Orden, where the director was accused of being classist and racist. Marea Alta has some scenes that may not go down too well with the lower social strata, because of the way a couple of characters in the story are personified.
But that small detail cannot tarnish all the positive attributes of the film. For me, it held me captive from the first minute and although the pace is quite slow, at no point did I get up or lose attention.
What is the plot of High Tide?
Laura is a woman of high social class, she is married, has children, but seems to be bored with her marriage. She is spending some time in a house in a seaside town, where people of her position go to write, paint or rest. There are some workers building a barbecue (in Argentina they call it Quincho), one night with wine and a full moon, Laura decides to have an affair with Weisman, the boss of Toto and Hueso, the other two workers. After that night of passion, Weisman does not return and the workers adopt a strange attitude towards the boss and owner of the house. The two men know that she slept with Weisman and start a kind of harassment towards Laura, doing whatever they want, drinking, drugging, entering the house, etc. A fight starts between Laura and the workers of the Asador, taking the situation to the limit.
The film establishes a power struggle between the workers, who have lost respect for the owner of the house and also sexually harass her. Showing a macho approach of the characters, who seeing that Weisman slept with the owner, want to have their chance.
I understand that the film wants to reflect female sexual freedom, every woman is the owner of her body, regardless of whether she is married or not, it is the woman who decides who she wants to sleep with or not. The protagonist begins to be harassed by the couple of men, and she will have to be strong to try to dominate the situation.
Laura's character undergoes a change throughout the film. She is a woman of strong character, but that affair with Weisman seems to have thrown her off balance. She seems to be losing control, the threatening attitude of the two workers and the invasion of her privacy lead her down a distressing path.
Up to this point I understand and support the message of the film, about defending the freedom of the human being, in this case, a woman, to do with her life and sexuality what she wants. Without having to be condemned, singled out and much less harassed for it.
But I think some scenes may anger a social class. Laura is a well-to-do white woman and Weisman, the boss of the workers, is poor, white and physically attractive. On the other hand, the two abusive workers, Toto and Bones (what names! hahaha) are poor, dark skinned, almost uneducated and with ugly features. This may detract from the main message of the film, accusing it of being classist, with the rich and beautiful protagonist being the victim of two poor and very ugly men (one of them has physical defects to walk around the house).
The tension generated by the different situations, are increasing, Laura is inevitably being pushed to the limit. This part of the psychological thriller is what kept me glued to my seat.
How much can a rope be pulled until it breaks? What can drive a normal human being to commit an act of extreme violence? What are we all capable of, when we are psychologically pushed to the limit? This film can serve as a study on the motives and origins of someone who commits violent madness, as well as a clear example of a feminist plea, in which women are free to make their own decisions.
Argentine filmmaker Veronica Chen writes and directs the film, using few resources, almost a single location, the house, and only five or six characters. The tone of the film is similar, it can be said to be the style of this director. Her previous film was from 2018: Rosita, which received positive reviews from film critics, it was also an intimate story, about a woman who must face a family problem where her father and her little daughter are involved. She is an interesting director and we should be attentive to her future productions.
I loved the work done, the camera movements, some shots made with a drone, from the opening sequence, which takes us from the sea to the interior of the house. General and zenithal shots with the drone to show the house and the movements of the different characters outside the house. The filmmaker manages to create a distressing atmosphere.
Of course, that almost dreamlike atmosphere and the beautiful landscapes offered by the area where the film was shot, counts on the quality of cinematographer Fernando Lockett, winner of several awards in his country and who has worked in more than 30 Argentinean films. Of his previous works I have seen Temporada de caza and La princesa de Francia.
Gloria Carrá gives a magnificent interpretation of Laura, the main character and absolute protagonist of the film. It is her life that we see on screen, everything that happens we see it through her point of view. A mature, attractive and apparently strong woman, but who is suddenly plunged into insecurity, until circumstances take her to unsuspected limits.
The actress is a musician, she sings and plays the guitar professionally, but in recent years she has focused on acting. In her country, she is known for playing many villains in soap operas, she has worked in many of them. In cinema , she has previously worked with the cinesta in the film La Mujer Conejo, that film I have not seen, but I did know her previously for having seen her in the films La Viudas de los Jueves of 2009 and the excellent Animal of 2018, starring the great Guillermo Francella. I have pending to see of this actress, the movie Abzurdah, when I see it I will do a review.
Jorge Sesán plays Weisman, the boss of the workers who will have a night of wild sex with Laura. The actor rose to fame in his Apis in 1998, for the movie Pizza, birra, faso. I remember him from the movie El túnel de los Huesos. Héctor Bordoni plays Hueso and actor Cristian Salguero plays Toto. Both actors play flat roles, without nuances, but surely it was due to the director's demands. Salguero I remember from the excellent 2015 film Paulina, starring Dolores Fonzi.
High Tide is a psychological thriller that I recommend watching with patience, the pace is slow, but the story is intriguing and the atmosphere created around the characters, has suspense and a twist that will surprise you , for how disturbing it is.
It is available on the Filmin platform, but you can search for it on other websites.
My Ranking: 3.6/5
Trailer
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