THE HEADLESS WOMAN (LA MUJER SIN CABEZA) (Arg/Sp/Fr/It 2008) **
Directed by Lucrecia Martel

Director Lucrecia Martel’s THE HEADLESS WOMAN begins with a very well shot segment of boys playing around a dried out canal.  Her camera tracks a barking dog chasing them about, while a bus drives by.  It all looks so real as if one is seated by the side of the road watching the boys.  It is then revealed that a gathering is close by, one that involves Martel’s protagonist, a blonde dentist Veronica (Maria Onetto).

The action picks up a bit when Veronica glances at her mobile while driving.  She hits something on the road that from the shot in the background looks like a dog.  But it could be a body as she never stops to check.  Veronica is clearly disturbed after that, unable to function both physically and mentally.  The rest of the film wanders along slowly as Martel describes the acts of Veronica, her family and friends to the accident, among other things.  But Martel leaves much to the minds of her viewers.

THE HEADLESS WOMAN has been praised by many critics as one of the greats of the year or even of the decade.  But Martel’s film is too vague and puzzling for viewers to connect.  Even the possible metaphor Veronica (Maria Onetto)’s events suggests is never made clear.  The result is a film that could either have a hidden agenda or mean nothing.  Interesting though many scenes may be or as well shot (like the first one described), if Martel leaves too much to the viewer as definitely she does in THE HEADLESS WOMAN, the result is a very frustrating (and often boring) film for many.  Watching it is like trying to figure out what someone is trying to tell you while talking a whole lot about other seemingly related things.  Eventually, most will give up.