La Boyita

In this Argentine drama, Jorgelina (Guadalupe Alonso) is a lonely young child whose older sister has become more interested in kids her own age than in hanging around with her clinging sibling. The first part of La Boyita features multiple scenes underscoring Jorgelina’s discouragement at home with her single mom before shifting when Jorgelina’s doctor dad takes her along for a season at the horse ranch that he owns, which is maintained all year by a hardworking, middle-aged couple and their introverted son, Mario (Nicola Treise), who is a few years older than Jorgelina. The latter draws Mario out, but there is a wall of seemingly excessive privacy that he won’t let her pass for mysterious reasons. Filmmaker Julia Solomonoff keeps viewers guessing about Mario’s reticence to engage in certain ordinary activities, and why learning to ride a racehorse is so important to him. A film of impressions about the way a child perceives the world without much experience or context, La Boyita is a compelling, haunting drama. Recommended. (T. Keogh)