Good intentions, no so well translated to the screen. In a way, confuse in many moments, not so clear in others; all related without a clear cinematographic language.

A feeling that the story is what in Spanish we call "tirada de los pelos"; exaggerated situations without a clear context between one situation with another.

Great performances of Ines Efron and specially of Mariela Vitale -the daughter of Lito Vitale, wow!-, that studied guarani for her role on this movie, a revelation as actress. A special mention for Arnaldo Andre, too.

It sounded interesting; almost like an Argentine version of "Heavenly Creatures" - but in the end "The Fish Child" fails to live up to the promise that it seems to have.

The story revolves around the teenage daughter of an Argentine judge and his wife, who falls in love with the family's Paraguayan maid. The two plot to run off together to Paraguay, to live in a house by a lake, but things don't turn out as planned when the judge is killed. There's not a lot of mystery about his killing; there is a lot of intrigue about the past - particularly the maid's past - but somehow the movie seemed kind of choppy to me (perhaps the result of subtitles) so that it didn't really draw me in particularly well.

The strongest part of the movie is probably the performance of Ines Efron as the judge's daughter. She was quite good and convincing in the role. Mariela Vitale was also quite good as the maid.

That said, the movie still disappointed a bit. (4/10)

The sapphic love between two young women is at the center of this intriguing story from Argentina. Lala, the daughter of a prominent judge in Buenos Aires is having an intense love affair with Guayi, the Paraguayan maid working for the family. Lala wants them to go Guayi's country to live in the house they will build by a lake. For that purpose she goes to a small town across the border. Unknown to Lala, the judge, is also having his way with Guayi, probably against the maid's wishes.

Nothing prepared Lala for what she finds once she gets North of the border. When she arrives at Guayi's house, she finds the fence decorated with little baby dolls and offerings left behind by people that went there as though looking for a place of worship. Guayi's father appears to let Lala in the house. He is a former soap star with a shady past, responsible for the tragedy his daughter experienced, and the reason she has stayed away from him. When Lala tries to leave, the man shows her a newspaper article showing her father was killed. Guayi is held responsible for the crime. Lala goes back to try to get her out of prison, something that proves to be almost impossible. With the help of a friend of Guayi this man stages a rescue. Finally the two women are together at last.

Directed by Lucia Puenzo, and based on her own novel, "The Fish Child", the film mixes some magic realism, favored by a lot of South American writers, with a sort of road film. The narrative is obscure, although the core of the story is the love between two young women from different backgrounds. The story does not make clear what really happened to Lala's father, something the director does not fully explore. The same thing can be said about the relationship between Lala and a father she knows took advantage of Guayi and her absent mother. There are a lot of themes the director wants to tackle and perhaps it is why the film goes in different directions.

The best thing in the film is the quality acting Ms. Puenzo got from the cast she put together. Ines Efron is quickly becoming one of the best actresses in Argentina, as she has already proved. Ms. Efron has an expressive face that adapts itself to conveying the emotions going on in Lala's head. Equally good is Mariela Vitale, a new face in films.

Rodrigo Pulpeiro's dark cinematography contributes to create the atmosphere in which the action is set. This film, although shown at the Tribeca Film Festival, has not been released commercially, as far as we know in the United States. One feels Ms. Puenzo will be around for quite some time because she is a voice that deserves our attention.