Buy The Fish Child on DVD

The Fish Child

Wolfe Releasing / Year: 2009

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Synopsis

Celebrated Argentine director Lucia Puenzo (XXY) returns with this gripping tale of forbidden lesbian romance and a crime heist gone wrong. Gifted Argentine actress Ines Efron stars as Lala, a teenager from the most exclusive suburban neighborhood in Buenos Aires. Lala is in love with Ailin, her family’s 20-year-old Paraguayan maid (played by Argentine pop star turned actress, Mariela Vitale, aka Emme). The girls hatch a plan to rob Lala’s family to fund their dream of living together in Paraguay, at the shores of lake Ypoá. But while Lala waits to be reunited with her lover in Ypoá, Ailin is detained in the outskirts of Buenos Aires for a crime she did not commit. Desperate to be with her girlfriend, Lala hatches a dangerous rescue plan to get her back.

A thrilling romantic drama, The Fish Child boasts beautiful cinematography and electrifying performances from its two female leads. The film also co-stars Spanish actor Carlos Bardem (brother of Oscar winner Javier Bardem).

Review

Cute 20 year-old Lala (Inés Efron, XX/XY) the daughter of a wealthy and powerful judge, is in love, and it is safe to say her family does not approve. In the class-conscious suburbs of Buenos Aires, the focus of Lala's affections is the family's feisty, similarly aged Paraguayan housemaid La Guayi (Mariela Vitale). To realize their dream of being together, the two young lovers embark on a criminal scheme to amass enough money to run away to Lake Ypoá in Paraguay, where La Guayi grew up. On the eve of their escape, the lovers' plan goes dreadfully awry when Bronté, Lala's dad, is found dead, slumped over his desk in the study. Unbalancing the momentum of their simple desire to be together, Lala travels alone to her lover's secluded village where she learns of her girlfriend's dark and clandestine past, and the mystery that surrounds the Paraguayan legend of the fish child. Drawing from a rich color palette, Puenzo ably juggles suspense, sexual jealousy, the dichotomy of rich versus poor, and the magical-realism of Latin-American mythology. El niño pez is a beautiful, haunting thriller that will enrapture you from the first frame to the last.

-- Carol Coombes