Three farmers work on a farm in Entre Ríos, a sparsely populated lowland region of Argentina traversed by rivers. Their crops are affected by ‘black frost’ which threatens to destroy their harvest. One day, a young woman appears at their door; blithely and self-assuredly she begins to influence their familiar routines. The bewildered farmers yield to Alejandra’s interventions: she dons Heribertos’ dead wife’s clothes, accompanies Benigno to a greyhound race and wins young Lucas’ friendship. Shortly afterwards, the frost disappears. Before long, people beyond the farm and the immediate neighbourhood come to think of Alejandra as their great hope and she starts to be revered like a saint. Impressive wide shots of the vast, untouched, mythical landscape reflect the settlers’ austere emotional worlds and their taciturn isolation in communities born of necessity, devoid of deeper bonds. With nimble poise, Alejandra stirs up the sober authority of the women as well as the men’s patriarchal self-image. berlinale 2016
