Lucrecia Martel, the celebrated Argentine writer-director known for her fictional works like La Ciénaga, The Holy Girl, and The Headless Woman, ventures into documentary filmmaking with Landmarks. The film covers a murder trial that touches on trademark Martelian concerns: land and terrain as active forces in people's lives, the tension between Indigenous communities and descendants of colonists, and the weight of institutions such as the law and the church on everyday individuals.
A Stately and Meditative Approach
Like Martel's fictional features, Landmarks unfolds in a stately, deliberate manner. The editing lingers on speakers' faces, follows a cleaner polishing furniture, or observes a clerk distributing dainty cups of coffee to authorities as arguments drag on. Martel explores the poetic side of drone technology, offering viewers a clear understanding of the landscape while creating oneiric, disorienting sequences. Goats and people amble along mountain paths upside down, forming abstract landscapes in tonal shades of green. The result is beautiful, if sometimes slightly soporific.
The Case at the Heart
The story revolves around the shooting of 68-year-old Javier Chocobar, a member of the Indigenous Chuchagasta people in northwest Argentina's Tucumán province. Unarmed, Chocobar was murdered during a scuffle when he and other Chuchagasta members confronted three men, one of whom claimed mining rights to the land. The other two were former police officers carrying three handguns. The perpetrators partly filmed the attack; though the actual shooting occurs off-camera, Martel integrates the footage into her film. The shaky, grainy textures blend seamlessly with the soaring drone views.
Beyond Aesthetics: People and Erasure
Martel's concerns extend beyond aesthetics. People are central to the story, and we learn much about Chocobar, his wife, his family, and the Chuchagasta both historically and today. Most chillingly, we discover how the state and local landowners have tried to erase them, claiming the Chuchagasta died out in the early 19th century, implying that the community we meet are not their descendants. The Chuchagasta dispute this, and Martel lets them make their case with quiet dignity, never descending into strident rhetoric.
Landmarks is showing at Bertha DocHouse, London.
