Rent The Heiresses (2018)

A truly great film - The Heiresses review by CP Customer

One of the best films I have seen in the last 10 years, a brilliantly evolving story that engages the viewer from the start and leaves us wanting more at the end.

The relationship at the heart of the film is sketched out in a few telling strokes, paving the way for the tenderly erotic re-awakening of life for Chela.

This is humane and truthful film-making at its very best.

Very slow and unconvincing - The Heiresses review by JR

This film has been garlanded with praise and awards, but apart from a few scenes (like the karoke one), I felt like shouting "Just get on with it!" The main actress has an expressionless face with permanently surprised eyebrows and a swollen top lip as if she had just been smacked on the mouth.

The plot is full of holes. Chela and Chiquita live in a run down but formerly grand old house in Asuncion. They have fallen on hard times and the first scene shows a wealthy-looking buyer inspecting their belongings. Chiquita is lively and engaging, but is soon sent to prison for fraud or a debt - we're not told which or why. Despite being totally skint, Chela remains in the house, waited on hand and foot - literally, by a very submissive maid. Chela is zombie-like and I thought she was suffering from dementia or on strong medication, but despite that (and not having a driver's license) she unaccountably becomes a de facto taxi driver for the rich old ladies of Asuncion. Through this, she meets a young woman who, rather unbelievably tries to get her to take up smoking and tries to seduce her. Meanwhile Chiquita seems to be having a whale of a time in the women's prison. There is a germ of a good film here, but this is not it.

Sapphic frustrations in the Paraguayan bourgeoisie - The Heiresses review by Philip in Paradiso

In today’s Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, 2 middle-aged women, Chela and Chiquita, have been a couple for over 30 years. They come from a bourgeois background and live in a grand apartment, with a resident maid. They do not need to work, from what we can see. But their lifestyle is far from lavish, as their funds are running out. They decide to sell part of the furniture and crockery, including fine crystal glasses that have been in their possession for generations. Charged with seeking a loan fraudulently, Chiquita has to report to the city’s jail. Chela, suddenly, finds herself on her own. The story develops from that point onwards.

This is an unusual film in more ways than one. For a start, you do not get to see a film from Paraguay that often. Also, the entire story is focused on women: there is not a single male character of note in the story. The social context is interesting: it is clear that the class system, rooted in the country’s colonial past and racial structure, is alive and well in Paraguay. The characters are intensely aware of their status in society and what their ‘rank’ in the pecking order entails.

Little, or very little, actually happens in the story. It develops slowly. The central character – Chela – discovers new things, new people and new possibilities in her life, while her partner, Chiquita, is away. But the movie, ultimately, is about what is not – what does not happen (as opposed to what happens) and what could have happened (but did not happen). In that strange sort of way, it is focused on a void: the void of existential missed opportunities. This makes the film interesting and unusual, subtle and profound all at once, but also frustrating – as frustrating as Chela finds her own life to be.

I cannot understand why reviewers have been praising the film to high heavens and I suspect its exotic character will have played a part. It is an interesting movie, but it is not that exciting and that inspiring.