The Fish Child

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The Fish Child
El nino pez (2009 film).jpg
Directed by Lucía Puenzo
Written byLucía Puenzo
Produced by Luis Puenzo
José María Morales
Starring Inés Efron
Mariela Vitale
Pep Munné
CinematographyRodrigo Pulpeiro
Edited by Hugo Primero [1]
Music byAndrés Goldstein & Daniel Tarrab, Laura Zisman [2]
Distributed byWanda Visión, MK2 Diffusion (FR) [3]
Release date
  • 6 February 2009 (2009-02-06)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryArgentina
LanguagesSpanish, Guaraní

The Fish Child (Spanish : El niño pez) is a 2009 Argentine drama film directed by Lucía Puenzo. The film is a loose adaptation of Puenzo's first novel of the same name. [4] The film premiered in the Panorama section at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival. [5]

Contents

Plot

Lala (Inés Efron) a girl from an affluent Argentinian family and daughter of a successful judge, is in love with Ailin (Mariela Vitale) who has worked as a maid for her family since she was 13. The two lovers are desperate to be together and hatch a plan to run away to Ailin's hometown of Lake Ypoa Paraguay. Lala steals paintings and other items from even at times her own family in order to finance their escape. As the movie continues, showing scenes in non-chronological order, mysteries of Ailin's past life, including her connection to the story tale called the Fish Child, are revealed. The two lovers find themselves in the face of crime, and against odds and hardships on their journey of escape into embracing their true love.

Ailin, the maid, has had a hard life, much different from that of Lala's. Her father raped her and flashbacks suggest she had his child. She then left Paraguay and moved to Argentina to get away. When she moved she was just a child and she her skin is darker than everyone else which makes her stand out. She also speaks a different language. When she works for Lala and her family, Lala's father tries to make her a part of the family. Lala's family also has sex with her which understandably causes a lot of anger with Lala.

Reception

The Fish Child received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a score of 83%. [6] The film is described as an "upstairs-downstairs, lesbian love on-the-run thriller" by critics on Screendaily. [7] Overall, this film is known for highlighting love, bringing attention to abuse, and demonstrating complex relationships. This film also highlights colorism because the maid Ailin experiences prejudice that Lala does not throughout the film.

Cast

See also

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References

  1. "The Fish Child (El niño pez)".
  2. "The Fish Child (El niño pez)".
  3. "The Fish Child (El niño pez)".
  4. "Tribeca '09 Interview: "The Fish Child" Director Lucia Puenzo (World Narrat. Compet.)". 19 April 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  5. Bennet, Ray (6 February 2009). "Film Review: The Fish Child". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  6. "The Fish Child". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  7. D'Arcy2009-02-07T18:46:00+00:00, David. "The Fish Child (El Nino Pez)". Screen. Retrieved 8 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)