Writer-director Pablo Agüero's feature debut follows Inti (Joaquin Aguila), a 6-year-old boy caught up in the madness of post-"Dirty War" Argentina. Upon her release from prison, Inti's mother, Alba (Dolores Fonzi), a former dissident, whisks him away from his grandmother's care. Still unsure of her own direction in life, Alba takes Inti to live in a hippie commune in Patagonia. Velvet Underground founder John Cale co-stars.
Acting
Dolores Fonzi's fractured, ferocious maternal unraveling.
Cinematography
Patagonia as character: vast, indifferent, strangely womb-like.
Score
John Cale's presence and sparse, haunting contributions.
Director
Pablo Agüero
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Agüero was born in 1977 Argentina; this is essentially autofiction about children of the disappeared raised by traumatized survivors. The title refers to salamanders' ability to regenerate—bitter irony for a generation still healing.
Cale accepted the role after Agüero sent him a handwritten letter and the script; he improvised most scenes and refused payment beyond expenses.
AR
