New York Film Festival Review: The Student

By David Salazar

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of watching "The Student" (El Estudiante) by Argentinian director.  Santiago Mitre. The film tells the story of a college student who becomes wrapped up in school politics when he falls for a professor. As Mitre stated in a Q and A after the screening, the film not only attempts to portray Argentinian politics on a school level, but also hopes to provide a metaphor for Argentinian politics at large. 

The film seems intent on present betrayal and side swapping in Argentinian politics. Characters change sides constantly, leaving the audience in suspense as to who the next traitor might be and creating a dynamic of persistent unease and restlessness between the different characters. The theme of the constant flux of political currents is not only limited to the political sphere. Roque, played by Esteban Lamothe in a subdued but effective performance, might not be a traitor in politics, but he has no problems switching women at his convenience or at the spur of the moment. As the film initiates, he is in a relationship with his friend Valeria (played by Valeria Correa) and even lives at her home, but goes on to find another woman when he gets tired of Valeria. Later he ends up with Paula (Romina Paula in a solid performance), but when trouble strikes and the hormones come calling, he has no problem turning to another woman. But the interesting note is that this betrayal does not seem to bother any of the woman as they do the same. When Roque goes after another girl, Valeria's response is to do the same and pursue another man. It is insinuated that Paula is sleeping with party leader Acevedo (Riccardo Felix) and so on. The film does an excellent job of portraying the parallels of betrayal in not only the public, but also the private sphere. 

Mitre's film is filled with momentum provided not only from its propulsive script, but by the energetic  and gritty documentary style cinematography (by no less than four cinematographers). The production design, while limited is highly effective, especially when considering that most of the footage in the school was done by inserting the actors into live events and grabbing actual documentary footage of student rally's and protests. 

I would like to add that the film's major strength (it's exposure of Argentinian culture), also happens to be it's greatest weakness. The film's characters spend a great portion of the film around tables spewing out conversations about Argentinian politics and parties, without ever identifying what any of it means. While this may have been detrimental for the naturalism of the scenes, it essentially alienates many audience members that have no idea what any of the names mean or represent. I understand that the purpose of the film is not to take political sides, but to instead show the instability and volubility of politicians. However, the lack of symbolic representation, while giving the film a more natural feel, takes away from the audience's ability to relate to any of the conversations, making them feel empty. A good portion of the film's middle act is dedicated to such conversations and this is likely the most trying portion of the film. 

But when Mitre decides to return to common human interactions and conversations, the film takes off once more and propels itself to a poignant ending, which is truly a magnificent example of utilizing economy and simplicity effectively. 

After the screening, Santiago Mitre answered some audience questions. Below is a video of the interview. I apologize for the poor video quality and any sound problems.