07/06/2013 - The coming-of-age story is engaging, tender and subtly funny, with extremely sensitive performances from its two leads

So Much Water [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the debut feature film for both its writer-directors, Uruguay’s Ana Guevara and Leticia Jorge, was screened in competition in the Transylvania International Film Festival in Cluj-Napoca. The daughter-father relationship and coming-of-age story is engaging, tender and subtly funny, with extremely sensitive performances from its two leads.

The father Alberto (Néstor Guzzini) takes his teenage daughter Lucía (Malú Chouza) and 10 year-old son Federico (Joaquín Castiglioni), who live with their divorced mother, for a week-long holiday at a resort that includes all kinds of attractions and a swimming pool. But the problem is it’s raining the whole time, which does not help Lucía’s sulky mood. As a teenage girl, she can’t find hanging out with her father and little brother much fun, so she quickly finds a girl to hang out with, and a cute guy who she gets interested in. The film closes with the night out they all spend together, and things do not go exactly as she was hoping for.

But, as much as it is about the coming of age, this film is about father-daughter relationships. After all, the introductory dedication says “To our fathers.” And it benefits fantastically from subtle and yet powerful performances by Chouza and Guzzini, frequently eliciting giggles and, occasionally, straight-out laughs for its deadpan humor.

The cinematography by María Secco (known for popular Gasolina) captures the torrential rains and interiors in natural colours, and the dynamics are nicely punctuated by spare but evocative music by the debutant Maximiliano Angelieri.

So Much Water was co-produced by Uruguay’s Ctrl Z Films, Mexico’s Bonita Films, Netherlands’ Topkapi Films, and Germany’s Komplizen Film. Alpha Violet handles the international rights.