The Headless Woman

Oftentimes when I go to a movie with a friend, they will turn to me at the end of the film and ask me to explain something to them. They are relying on me to notice something they may have missed, or perhaps they are relying on my foreknowledge of the film. Most of the time I can help them out and then we’ll discuss the film together. But when I saw The Headless Woman, I was so thoroughly confused, that I regretted not having a friend to turn to.

At first I wasn’t sure what was causing my confusion. I suspected the language barrier, that I was missing something in the translation, but I also thought that the film’s style added to the vagueness. After a good night’s sleep, I still wasn’t sure about what I saw, so I decided to do a little research.

I found a review of the film written in the New York Times. It was one of those reviews that regurgitates the entire movie so you don’t even have to go see it, a practice I try vehemently to avoid. It this case though, it was exactly what I was looking for. As I read the review and the critic went through each point of the movie scene by scene, I was checking myself for understanding. As I read I was saying to myself, “Got that, yeah, saw that, good, okay, missed that one, got that, got that,” and so forth. When I was done with the article, I had only missed three details, so I’ve come to the conclusion that the film was purposely vague.

Stephen Holden, who reviewed the film, goes on to propose that the film is an allegory to the political situation in Argentina. I’m sorry people; I’m out. If I wanted a civics lesson, or a treatise on the historical denials of Argentina’s dictatorship, I would go back to school. This film is too much work. I stuck it out, I paid attention, but the payoff left me wanting. I received no satisfaction from this film. And, at the risk of being considered unsophisticated, I didn’t understand this film. Try it if you want, but I don’t recommend it.

Rating: Don’t Bother Too complicated to be fun