The Dependent

Review by Adam Cook ????

I've seen this described as the greatest Argentinian film of all time and whilst I don't know enough about the films from the country I can certainly see why some would rate it so highly. In many ways it feels like a precursor to David Lynch's Eraserhead, it isn't quite as overtly surreal but it still shares the same off-kilter unease and the central protagonists are particularly similar. The Dependent is a slow film where, on the surface, very little actually happens. Fernandez is trapped in his day job counting down the days his old boss will die so he gets the store. He meets a young woman, Miss Plasini, at night and they share cups of tea in her eerie courtyard. Over time he meets her obsessive mother, handicapped brother and symbolic black cat who appears at the strangest moments and is normally treated cruelly by the Plasini family. The cycle continues throughout the whole film - work during the day, bizarre meetings with a family at night - Fernandez is trapped in a nightmarish Groundhog day and too dependent on others to change his fate.

The film is beautifully shot in crisp black and white. Fernandez is permanently trapped in the frame be it by a doorway, forbidding tree or the bars on the shop window. He is unable to escape anything about his life. Some may not get the film, it defies categorisation as it is neither horror nor traditional drama. However, it does have a very distinct mood and slowly gets under the skin as Fernandez becomes trapped by his newly adopted family.