disappointment media
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About

[TIFF 2022] DAUGHTER OF RAGE -- A Somewhat Generic Film Exploring an Important Issue

9/25/2022

0 Comments

 
Review by Sean Boelman
Picture
Image courtesy of TIFF.
Some of the best Latin American films have been those that have found optimism in the underbelly of society. This is the case with Laura Baumeister de Montis’s Daughter of Rage, the first ever narrative feature to be directed by a Nicaraguan woman, a moving if often generic drama.

The movie tells the story of an eleven-year-old girl and her mother who are separated as they struggle to make a living in Nicaragua’s largest landfill. We’ve seen plenty of films about families from low-income communities struggling, but since the issue persists, it’s important that we continue to have this conversation.

One of the main things that this movie talks about is the system of indentured labor that still happens shockingly frequently in Latin American countries. Although the film clearly depicts the harm that this system causes to the people involved in it, it still doesn’t feel like a strong enough indictment of the society that let it happen.

There are certainly some moments in the movie that are quite emotional and harrowing, but they are more effective individually than they are as a cohesive unit. At several moments throughout the film, viewers will be left feeling thoroughly depressed at what they are watching, but all too often, it struggles with familiarity.
Picture
The area in which the movie struggles the most is its character development. The audience will undeniably connect with the protagonist because of her plight, but the supporting characters are all extremely shallow. Every antagonist in the film is almost cartoonish, and the relationship the protagonist has with her is a thoroughly conventional arc.

Ana Alejandra Medal’s performance in the leading role is pretty great, and is a large part of what makes the movie work so well. For such a young actress who has no other prior credits to her name, her performance is extraordinarily nuanced and complex, and she is able to carry the film on her back despite relative inexperience.

There are also some very stark visuals in the movie, largely dependent on the contrast between the stark reality of the landfill setting and the beauty of the cinematography. Like so many other films about people in low-income communities, the movie is about finding the beauty in the most unlikely of places.

Daughter of Rage is far from a perfect film, but for what it is, it’s pretty solid. The use of imagery and strong acting make up for the occasionally generic writing to create a movie that is generally pretty affecting.

Daughter of Rage screened at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, which ran September 8-18.

​Rating: 3.5/5
               
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Authors

    All
    Adam Donato
    Alan French
    Allison Brown
    Borja Izuzquiz
    Camden Ferrell
    Cole Groth
    Daniel Lima
    Dan Skip Allen
    Erin M. Brady
    Jonathan Berk
    Joseph Fayed
    Josh Batchelder
    Paris Jade
    Rafael Motamayor
    Sarah Williams
    Sean Boelman
    Tatiana Miranda

disappointment media

Dedicated to unique and diverse perspectives on cinema!
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About