Imagine the situation – a young Chilean woman with a complex character of a girlfriend realises that it’s time to tell her conservative mother about their relationship. So, what does she do? She arranges for the three of them to spend a day together on a boat.
Talk about tension! The three very different characters tread around each other carefully as the broad range of emotions jostle for attention – long-term resentment, jealousy, eagerness, rejection, hope, irritation… the list goes on.
Director Fernández Constanza’s A Map for Love is a skillfully-sketched triptych of tense female dynamics. Clever camera shots are used to heighten the tension and the unsteady motion of the boat cleverly mirrors the instability of the situation. Moro Andrea and Mariana Prat, as daughter and mother, provide solid performances, but it’s Francisca Bernardi as the unpredictable and manipulative Javiera who holds it all together. And, with her unusual looks, not to mention her strange Spanish rendition of the Bonnie Tyler hit Total Eclipse of the Heart, hers is a performance you won’t forget in a hurry.
A Map for Love is released on DVD by Peccadillo Pictures on 10th February
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