Underplayed Gems

Zama (2016)

Zama poster
Directed by
Lucrecia Martel
Genre
drama film
Country
Argentina
Runtime
1h 54m
Rated
14
Rating
6.5 of 10 from 178 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A Spanish colonial official in 18th century South America waits endlessly for a transfer away from a remote outpost. His obsession with being promoted to a better post leads him through bizarre and humiliating situations.

meditativeambiguoushypnoticoff-kiltersuffocatingabsurdslow-pacedclaustrophobic

What happens

Zama [ˈsama] is a 2017 period drama film written and directed by Lucrecia Martel, based on the 1956 novel of the same name by Antonio di Benedetto. It premiered at the 74th Venice International Film Festival. It was also screened in the Masters section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. On 29 September 2017, the Argentine Academy of Cinematography Arts and Sciences chose the film as the national entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards and Best Iberoamerican Film at the 32nd Goya Awards. In 2022, it was selected as the 19th greatest film of Argentine cinema in a poll organized in 2022 by the specialized magazines La vida útil, Taipei and La tierra quema, which was presented at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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