The Headless Woman (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:22
Fresh:13
Rotten:9
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: Careful and slight, Lucretia Martel's Headless Woman doesn't fit neatly into a clear storyline, but supports itself with ethereal visuals.
Theatrical Release:Aug 19, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: After only three features, Lucrecia Martel has firmly established herself as one of world cinema's most distinctive visionaries. Following up on her subliminally atmospheric LA CIENAGA and THE HOLY... [More]
Starring: Guillermo Arengo, Cesar Bordon, Claudia Cantero, Ines Efron
Director: Lucrecia Martel
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Reviews for The Headless Woman
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 3/4 |
One of the film's great strengths is Martel's compressed visual power. Her ability to capture the disorientation of seeing the world from the seclusion of a car's interior is strangely compelling... Full Review |
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May be the decade's greatest zombie movie Full Review |
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Martel -- having listed Herk Harvey's ultra-low-budget 1962 horror film Carnival of Souls as a favorite -- has now more or less remade it as an "art film": that is, she's slathered the pretentiousness on so thick that all the fun is gone. Full Review |
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2.5/4 |
It moves in a disappointing direction away from Martel's previous features La Ciénaga (2001) and The Holy Girl (2004). Full Review |
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4/4 |
Martel's vision is so visually rich and complex it borders on the impressionistic, but The Headless Woman would be nowhere without the precise tour de force performance by Onetto. Full Review |
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3/5 |
A parabolic Argentine film about a woman who proves that the rich can get away with murder. Full Review |
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Martel rips Antonioniennui off its foundations by refusing to throw the audience a bone of indentification via the disorienting effects of lust/love. Full Review |
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85/100 |
This subtle and compact short story affirms that the hovering hands and exquisitely layered sound design of her previous film weren't accidents but the unusually precise creations of an exciting new filmmaker. Full Review |
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Martel is a very minor art-filmmaker. Not especially insightful, she exemplifies the second-rate aesthetics of underdeveloped cultures. Her over-subtle approach hides the superficiality of her dull, dull style. Full Review |
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1.5/5 |
Ethereal to a fault. Consternation carries the day. Full Review |
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2.5/5 |
The Headless Woman settles into the episodic without the necessary character development - it's a slice of life too slight for its own good. Full Review |
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4.5/5 |
A full appreciation of Lucrecia Martel’s elegant, rain-soaked film, The Headless Woman, requires the concentration and eye for detail of a forensic detective. Full Review |
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5.85/10 |
An initially intriguing, well-shot psychological drama with diminishing suspense. It eventually starts to drag, leaving you feeling concurrently frustrated and underwhelmed. Full Review |
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4/5 |
The movie isn't interested in moral judgments or lessons, just unflinching observation. Groove on the eerie vibe, then draw your own conclusions. Full Review |
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5/5 |
An astounding portrait of a person entirely out of sync with her own existence. Full Review |
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5/5 |
I have seen the film three times now and each time I find myself concentrating more closely Full Review |
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B+ |
Effective as social critique and character study, Martel's third film is her most original and challenging to date, a work in which form, style, and tone are congruent in depicting social and moral disorientation. Full Review |
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The lead actress, María Onetto, holds you through the longueurs. Full Review |
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D |
"The Headless Woman" might have gained unworthy praise at film festivals, but it isn't worthy of market approval. Full Review |
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As dense and fluid as Martel's movie is, the viewer -- like the protagonist -- is compelled to live in the moment. And a rich moment it is. Full Review |
CommentLatest News for The Headless Woman
October 07, 2009:
New: Brand New Trailer and Poster. 
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August 16, 2009:
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