Headless Woman [DVD]

(Contains minor spoilers for the 1960 film 'L'avventura')Anyone who has seen the 1960 Antonioni masterpiece/debacle 'L'avventura' may relate certain themes in these two films. An 'incident' occurs in the first act of both films which is then alluded to throughout, until gradually becoming less focused on by the characters and as a result the plot itself. Both films masterfully depict their female protagonists as women 'lost'. Lost in their own privelleged lives with just a feeling of guilt keeping their pulses going.To look at the headless woman as a film where 'nothing happens' is on the surface a fair enough assumption, but when you delve into the underlying themes of the movie it becomes a quite startling portrayal of mental health, identity crisis and family. Is the protagonist suffering an identity crisis in which there is no escape or is it simply mental trauma from an incident which may or may have not happened. As someone who isn't a highly educated film critic I can only speculate what the true meaning of the film and its protagonist is, but as a fan of Avant-Garde film I highly recommend this. Especially to those who enjoy films about identity (Persona, Mulholland Drive, L'avventura, Vertigo)This film is either a masterpiece in subtext and human psychology or just a pointless mystery to itself and the people watching it. Overall this film is deeply unsettling upon first viewing. You are constantly waiting for some sort of reveal, just as we did upon seeing 'L'avventura' for the first time. We are continually looking out for 'Anna' around every corner as the cinematography teases us making us expect to see one thing just to be let down by a shot of something completely different and seemingly unrelated to the story.The Headless Woman is a film appreciated more after analysis. You realise the strangely profound effect it has had on you, yet you're not sure why. Just like Monica Vitti's character in 'L'avventura' we have seen the protagonist go through a 'mental journey' (bit of a cliché). This film seems to follow that idea but with much more focus on the psychological aspect of a character. Leaving the viewer with what could be described as the most uneventful and tame but profound psychological dramas/mysteries ever.In the end though, nothing actually happens...

This is a remarkable film, introduced to me by BFI. It is multilayered, but clearly has political subtext (those servants and the poor, barely in focus much of the time, barely recognized as individuals, the whole response of the bourgeousie to the possible/probable killing of a young boy), as well as an exploration of reality and dream. Fluidly filmed and haunting, and, like the best thoughtful art films, leaves one wondering, questioning, discussing.

Nothing happens.

Occasionally one encounters a film that seems to be both of the extremes attributed to it by fans and detractors. "La Mujer Sin Cabeza" is a very strong examination of disassociation, of a society divided by class, enthnicity and gender. The heroine is experiencing First World problems in a society that is simultaneously First and Third World. I admired the way this was introduced, and done without any rage, indeed everyone is extremely polite to each other (taking into account the emotion). Yet at the same time it moves at a snail's pace, and many a viewer will lose the will to live long before they reach the end. It seemed the longest 86 minutes of my life. I was reminded of "La Prise De Pouvoir Par Louis XIV" everything happens at a gentle pace even though the events are momentous, but then I read about Louis XIV a lot, Argentinian society is not my strong point. And that is probably the clue as someone(was it Lincoln) said those of you who like this sort of thing will find this is the sort of thing you like.As an arthouse film for those of a contemplative disposition - five+ starsAs a film for the casual viewer - one star.The heroine was particularly well-played.

'The Headless Woman', a great B-movie film name, is the first film i've seen from Argentinian director Lucrecia Martel. The story is simple enough, a woman is a driver involved in a hit-and-run incident and has to endure the consequences of her actions.But this is not your typical Hitchcockian thriller, Martel has crafted an enigmatic exploration of life in Argentina. The story focuses on Vero (Maria Onetto), who was involved in the hit-and-run. The accident left Vero concussed, and suffering from amnesia. Stylistically, this is where the film becomes complicated. We view the film through Vero's unfocused struggle to regain her senses, similar to Christopher Nolan's brilliant 'Memento' but without the narration, and we slowly begin to understand who her family and friends are, her status and privilege. The film never gives you an easy answer, every person and every situation since the accident isn't explained in any detail because Vero hasn't understood it yet either. You may assume the first man that greets and makes love to her since the accident is her husband, but he turns out to be her cousin's husband.She confesses to her husband that she had killed someone in the car accident, but there was no trace of a body but a dead dog. Her cousin's husband works for the police, he found nothing either. Tiny snippets of information and subtle physical gestures and movements reveal some clues. A child has disappeared in the area and is eventually discovered in a storm drain. Was he her victim? Were the fingerprints on the car's window his or those of her own child? But Vero starts to question herself, wondering if she really did kill a person, was it only a dog or nothing at all, did the accident really happen? Her hospital admission suddenly disappeared from the records, as does her stay in a hotel. Is it all a cover-up by her husband, her cousin's husband, and her brother?'The Headless Woman' is an attack on the privileged and political elite in Argentina, following in the footsteps of other recent Argentinian film's such as the brilliant 'The Secret In Their Eyes'. The disappearance of Vero's records is a reference to the disappearance of Argentinians in the military dictatorships of the 1970's and 80's. We see how Vero's family is surrounded by lower-class people who are employed as cooks, gardeners and labourers. These people are all seen in the periphery as if they are invisible to Vero and her family.'The Headless Woman' is a very clever film, especially the unusual use of camera angles and sound on the peripheral characters. But this is not an easy film to watch as your concentration levels are tested to the maximum. Clues are always in the periphery, sometimes passing you by just too quickly. Maria Onetto is excellent as Vero, but her character intrigued me. Nobody, not her husband, her family or friends noticed anything different about her since the accident. Everybody carried on as normal, so either Vero never had an accident or this was merely normal behaviour from her!The pace of the film was just too slow, the film's complexity makes for repeated viewing but the film is so subdued and wilfully obtuse that you eventually lose interest. Lucrecia Martel's contempt for the Argentinian bourgeoisie is unmistakeable, we see through Vero a smug Argentinian elite who are above the law, with a lack of guilt, remorse and understanding towards any class below them.