The Woman from Uruguay La Uruguaya - Film Review Spanish Film Festival 2023

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Tue 20 Jun 2023 - Wed 12 Jul 2023

The Woman from Uruguay (La Uruguaya) - Film Review (Spanish Film Festival 2023)

Screening as part of the Spanish Film Festival, The Woman From Uruguay is an entirely agreeable drama about a middle-aged writer seeking relief from his many problems. Based on a popular novel by Pedro Mairal, the film is directed by Ana Garcia Blaya, who has crafted an entertaining tale, all packed into an ultra-tight 78 minute run-time.



The protagonist of the film is Lucas Pereyra (played by Sebastian Arzeno), a novelist who lives with his wife and young son in Buenos Aires. He's a well-known writer, with a string of best-sellers to his name. But when we first meet him, signs of his success are hard to find. He's in his forties, he's got writer's block, the expenses are piling up, caring for his child proves difficult and his marriage is far from rosy. Pereyra is fast-approaching has-been status and is mightily flummoxed. But he's got a plan. He will travel to the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo for a day-trip. There he will withdraw his latest advance in US dollars, smuggle it back into Argentina and change it to pesos on the black market, thus reaping a decent windfall which will enable him to stave off creditors for a while.

Or at least that's what he tells his wife. Pereyra is going to Montevideo to withdraw his advance, but he's also going to hook up with a free-spirited 25-year-old woman named Magali Guerra (Fiorella Bottaioli). Pereyra flirted heavily with the woman previously at a writer's festival and the pair have been messaging each other surreptitiously for months prior to the Montevideo meeting.

So Pereyra catches a ferry to Uruguay. There he plays tourist and attends to his errands: visiting the bank to withdraw his cash per his cover story and inspecting a room at a fancy hotel which he deems opulent enough for his tryst with the young woman. After this, Guerra presents herself and the pair celebrate their reunion by downing glasses of whisky. Then they set out on foot through the city streets, exploring, shopping and talking. The day goes on, ultimately proving to be a long and strange one for Pereyra.



With its subject matter, The Woman from Uruguay could so easily have gone off the rails - middle-aged male discontent not being one of the under-represented genres in cinema. But the theme is approached differently here. That's partly because Pereyra isn't allowed much time for navel-gazing, but it's also because Guerra turns out to be a confident and clever woman, something Pereyra hadn't really counted on (or even thought much about). It's one of the film's best assets, and allows Pereyra's tired masculinity to be explored through Guerra's perspective.

The Woman from Uruguay traverses well-worn themes but does so in a fresh and pleasing manner. It's well acted, shot splendidly (Montevideo!) and offers much to digest thanks to its original and thoughtful script. A highlight of this year's Spanish Film Festival.



The Woman from Uruguay is playing nationally as part of the HSBC Spanish Film Festival 2023. Find information on session times, locations and tickets on the festival's official website .

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!date 20/06/2023 -- 12/07/2023
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