The Heiresses (Las herederas)

"The Heiresses" is the kind of story Hollywood doesn't tell anymore; a 50-something woman daring to rekindle her lost spirit of discovery.

Builds emotional involvement by infinitesimal degrees through its acute observation of characters and social context and its ultra-naturalistic performances.

Using largely unknown actresses with practically no screen experience yet an extraordinarily canny understanding of character, the director-writer achieves a heightened degree of insight within the confines of a stripped-down production.

This beautifully played-out drama is as much about the emergence of Paraguay after so long under dictatorship as about the middle-aged Chela, now emerging from the literal darkness of her shadowy home. Ana Brun is exceptional as Chela.

In Ana Brun he's found someone that doesn't merely equal his skill but surpasses it.

The film succeeds mostly in Martinessi's direction. His shadowy visual aesthetic compensates for the narrative's shortcomings by evoking an absorbing sense of melancholy.

With his debut film, Marcelo Martinessi paints an impressive image of Paraguay's upper class, trapped in their situation as the characters are in their social roles. [Full review in Spanish]

Aside from some great performances,The Heiresses transpires little more than a calligraphic application of a formula. [Full review in Spanish]

Brun's performance exists mostly in between her sparse bits of dialogue - her facial expressions direct the emotional core of any given scene, while her eyes seem to change color with particular moods.

It's a film with a small focus but it's intriguing, memorable and very powerful.

Martinessi compassionately and without judgment, looks to coax his country from the safe but darkened doorway of the past, out into the sunshine of the present and the uncertain weather of the future.

Martinessi's frequent close-ups of Chela's face make her emotional ups and downs the driving force of The Heiresses.