The Good Girls

Wisconsin Premiere • narrative • Mexico • 2018 • DCP • Spanish with English subtitles • 93 MIN

section: New International Cinema

Mexico City, 1982. Ensconced in a posh enclave of country clubs and pools, immaculately coiffed housewives indulge in elaborate parties and shopping sprees, blissfully oblivious to their country's looming economic crash. Decked out in pure early-1980s luxury (more than one reviewer has noted the subtle satire in the film's fashion sense), queen bee Sofia clucks over new-money arrivistes—at least until the unthinkable happens, and her own credit card is declined. As the cracks in her family's facade deepen, keeping up appearances becomes an all-consuming mission. Writer/director Alejandra Márquez Abella sees no shortage of absurdity in this milieu, but admirably doesn’t simply mock her characters either, instead casting Sofia in a relatively sympathetic light, despite her bourgeois trappings. Credit is due to the remarkably poised and convincing lead performance by Ilse Salas (Güeros, WFF 2015), whose elegance Márquez Abella matches with graceful camera moves that glide across impeccably manicured estates. Praising its "distinctly female gaze," The Globe and Mail named this their "Best Discovery" of the Toronto Film Festival: "It's not hard to believe The Good Girls is a directorial coup that only a woman could pull off." (MK)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program (LACIS)