Lesbians of Buenos Aires

The title of Santiago Garcia's documentary is, in this case, entirely descriptive: Lesbians of Buenos Aires is a simple, unadorned portrait of a group of lesbians living in the Argentinean capital, told through a sequence of intercut interviews in which the women talk about recognizing and accepting their sexual identities, coming out, and the trials of developing relationships within a mostly hostile and uncomprehending environment. There isn't a great deal of structure to the film, which is arranged more like a collage of reminiscences and observations, with occasional references to social and political matters (demonstrations and gay pride parades, for example), but some of the personal recollections are poignant and telling. A sad-faced woman goes on at length about her involvement in establishing a female soccer team (which, given the centrality of the sport in Argentinean culture, becomes a motif throughout the film), another talks about her job as a used-car salesperson, a couple discuss the hurdles they face in deciding to bring a child into their family, and a young woman recounts quite movingly how her initially standoffish parents eventually came around to accepting her girlfriend. Lesbians of Buenos Aires tends to be repetitive, and could have been better organized, but as a snapshot of a community with some touching stories to tell, it's a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)