From director Juan Pablo González, the narrative film Dos Estaciones uses social realism, sincere performances, and thoughtful camerawork to tell the story of a woman internalizing the struggle of her failing tequila factory in Jalisco, Mexico. The film, though sparse in dialogue, covers a variety of topics that help it fit within a range of specialized media collections, including globalization, Latin American culture, and LGBTQ+ representation. Truthful acting performances, especially from Sundance Film Festival award-winner Teresá Sanchez in the lead role, elevate Dos Estaciones from merely a social picture to an emotionally engaging and humanizing film about the costs of globalization on businesses, communities, and individuals.
Tough but generous María (Sanchez) is a middle-aged businesswoman who owns a rural tequila factory, inherited from her father. On top of her mountainous debts, a fusarium plague causes an agave crisis, foreign factories are buying up the limited viable crops, and María is behind on her payroll. At an employee’s child’s birthday party, María meets Rafaela, or “Rafa” (played by Rafaela Fuentes), a younger woman who previously helped run another town’s tequila factory. María, clearly smitten, gives Rafa an impromptu job interview and offers her work in exchange for room and board. Rafa accepts and their ensuing, delicate relationship provides the film with a “will they/won’t they?” layer of tension.
Within this stressful existence of bills and pesticides and unrequited feelings, Dos Estaciones features small moments of joy for its characters. María, a woman who once exerted influence over her community through charitable acts, now finds reprieve in dancing in the kitchen a la Taylor Swift with her new assistant, doing doughnuts in a borrowed truck, and having her hair meticulously groomed by the local stylist, Tatín (Tatín Vera). Tatín receives time to find her own moment of happiness when she meets a gentleman named Fernando at the casino and they go home together. While not vital to the plot, their “morning after” companionship gives the audience a glimpse of Jalisco’s beautiful landscapes and the equally beautiful souls inhabiting it.
Even the audience is granted breathing room from the stresses of running a failing tequila factory: segments of agave harvesting and processing are placed between scenes, lulling the audience with an ASMR-like quality.
Unfortunately, María’s flights of fancy take a dark turn as pressure increases to sell the factory and pay off her debtors. Her repressed emotions start to leak out, showing a chaotic side to her calm exterior. As the tension builds, Dos Estaciones features minimal dialogue, which keeps the audience responsible for interpreting the characters’ actions and ascribing possible motivations. In fact, despite featuring both trans (Tatín) and gay characters (María and possibly Rafa), sexuality is never addressed verbally, a refreshing and natural representation of LGBTQ+ existence. In a way, this lack of explanation allows the audience to project their own feelings onto the characters and heightens their emotional connection to María as she approaches the film’s denouement and possibly her breaking point.
González’s tale of agave and relationships is a character study with global implications. While media librarians would be wise to add Dos Estaciones to any film collection with a focus on international films or independent dramas, the movie also addresses relevant issues to LGBTQ+, Latin American, and Political Science studies. In addition to its far-reaching relevance, Dos Estaciones appeals to an audience’s appetite for a riveting plot, while patient cinematography allows gorgeous scenery and poignant performances to tell one woman’s story of an enduring struggle and simple joys.
What type of library programming could use this title?
Libraries could program Dos Estaciones for Pride Month because of its positive representation of gay characters, for National Hispanic Heritage Month because of its setting in Jalisco, Mexico, or for a showcase of previous Sundance Film Festival award winners.
What academic subjects would this film be suitable for?
Dos Estaciones would be suitable for courses that cover academic subjects like political science and Latin American studies, as well as in film courses covering social realism.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
Dos Estaciones would be suitable for film collections that specialize in international pictures, especially Spanish-language films, and award-winning dramas. It would also fit into specialty and academic collections for LGBTQ+, Latin American, and Political Science studies.