“Vera and the pleasure of others” has vestiges of “The dreamers” of Bertolucci, “Lucía and sex” from Spanish Medem in theme and subtlety while one can guess an aesthetic that diametrically refers inevitably to the only sex that was seen in Argentine cinema of yesteryear with Armando Bo and the Coca Sarli.
This first film of Romina Tamburello and Federico Actis It is a welcome breath of fresh air to see carnality in times of virtuality, in an honest portrait of today’s young people, their unprejudiced and simple way of bonding and a witty premise that guides it: its protagonist, the odd Luciana Grassois a teenager who rents one of the many apartments that her mother manages (Ines Estevez) to earn some pesos. But above all to spy on the privacy of other young people who seek refuge for their sexual encounters.
Grasso told to Scope: “The exploration of sex never ends, you can continue searching, this is a search without prejudice and to find yourself again. The film talks about friendship, the mother-daughter bond and parents as desiring beings.”
The relationship between the characters of Grasso and Estevez It is as solid as the other links that the film proposes. Among the rush of everyday life there is room for noble moments of affection and confrontation between the teenage daughter and her parents. The matriarchy is evident with a woman who runs the house and a father marked by Oedipus with his daughter, who appears more busy in sports than in work.
The film takes an interesting turn when the sex seen through the keyhole that the protagonist enjoys becomes revulsive in the skin of beings she never imagined seeing.
Tamburello, director of the film, told Ambito: “We evoked with the director a story about when he was going to have sexual relations with his first girlfriend. They had a sleeping bag and went to her father’s office and that’s how this central idea of the film appeared, starting from having no place for sex when we were kids. Then the character of Vera emerged, a heroine who brought a solution to the adolescent problem, but then contradictions appear.”
The story revolves around a 16-year-old teenager who divides her days between volleyball, school and a secret hobby: subletting an empty apartment with sleeping bags for a couple of hours so that other teenagers can have sex. Enjoy listening to other people’s pleasure behind doors, playing at being invisible.
Tamburello He continued: “We thought what could happen to the protagonist in those palliers listening behind the doors, encountering the remains of other people’s sex when she goes to clean the apartments. Vera’s search for what gives her pleasure and enjoyment arose, the film is about desire and what it is for each of us. Having the courage to take that step to find it.”
Actis, The director added: “What can be dirt, remains of other people’s sex, is a question and how the other’s sex is transferred to your own. That’s where friendship appears. The first sexual experiences are uncomfortable, fun, scary, funny, we seek to show all that. Prejudices, bright things, friendship appear. We wanted a luminous film beyond the darkness, we had a clear idea with a zoom camera setting because it was relevant to the voyeur character. The most difficult job was to find the tone of the film’s music in that see-saw of sensations, and he found it Pablo Crespo”. That aspect of the film is excellent, with an exquisite soundtrack.
Tamburello He concluded: “Sex scenes are feared, one wants to get rid of them, but we needed them to stay, and to live with that discomfort on a set full of people we had to empty it, of looks, of noise, so that that necessary intimacy would appear. . We seek to show the city as a place where one can hide, the iconic places of Rosario such as the Flag Monument or the river are not there. Vera hides between buildings and in the end in the ugliest place one can find friendship, one’s own pleasure, despite the visual noise and in the dirt one ends up finding the most beautiful thing.
The film has a vast tour of festivals, including Estonia, Mar del Plata, Barcelona, Miami, Johannesburg, The Queer Film Festival in Berlin, Australia, Bilbao, Poland, Vancouver, and numerous distinctions at LGBTQ+ festivals.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
