One in a Thousand

By: Amos Lassen

"ONE IN A THOUSAND"
Affection, Desire and Sexuality
Amos Lassen
Iris (Sofía Cabrera)) lives in the poor neighborhood of Las Mil Casas, in Corrientes, Argentina. She left school and spends her free time with her gay cousins Darío (Mauricio Vila) and Ale (Luis Molina) or wanders around the neighborhood, One in a Thousand as it is known, with her basketball. Renata (Ana Carolina García) comes into her life, bringing love.
Iris is fascinated with Renata who is an outgoing femme fatal who is older than her. Even with all of the gossip in the neighborhood, the two girls become close. We see Iris's close friendship with her cousins and how both brothers live their gay sexuality in very different ways, in an environment where sexual choices and their fields of action are far from acceptable.
The young people of One in a Thousand make up a world with adults almost always distant. Total sexual frankness prevails and modesty or explicitness are consistent with the psychology of the characters and situations.
Director Clarisa Navas gives us a powerful portrait of the circulation of affection, desire and sexuality in a group of young people in a marginal neighborhood and a love story that is far from the acceptable manners and without any misery.

When Iris meets Renata in the projects of One Thousand in Argentina, she is immediately and inexplicably attracted to her. Renata makes everyone uncomfortable, and prejudices grow. Iris has to overcome her fears and struggle with her insecurities in order to experience first love. The two girls and their small group of friends are the queer resistance in an environment where desire adapts many forms and gossip is a hateful weapon.
One in a Thousand is rundown project characterized by prostitution, -dealing, unemployment and basketball and where sexual desire is high. Renata exudes an exciting sexual energy who to whom Iris writes a letter and gives it to her after meeting on the bus. They develop a quick relationship that is complicated by the rumors of Renata's past.
This isn't your average film about LGBT struggle, whereby protagonists struggle against hatred. There is plenty of talk about what "they" say, especially with regards to Renata's past, yet we never know who "they" are. Iris' family members are never seen and her cousin's supportive mother is okay with her two gay children.