The Currents

No matter how we may try to outrun the trauma and pain of our past without adequately addressing these issues, we’re unlikely to escape them. They will undoubtedly catch up with us and force us to confront them. But how do we do that? That’s the task put to Lina (Isabel Aimé González-Sola), a successful, high-profile fashion stylist from Buenos Aires who’s being hauntingly chased by ghosts who simply won’t leave her in peace. The exact nature of those shadowy psychological specters is hinted at but never fully or clearly defined, a tactic that writer-director Milagros Mumenthaler draws upon in characterizing the vague and unsettling nature of the feelings that her protagonist is experiencing. We thus witness Lina behaving enigmatically, engaging in spontaneous inexplicable acts that often place her and others in peril and bewilderment. Interestingly, this aberrant behavior begins while on a trip to Geneva, where she’s awarded a prize, an event that should mark an important milestone in her career. But, upon returning from Switzerland, these strange urges and emotions follow her home, causing concern for others, including her loving but puzzled husband (Esteban Bigliardi), her adoring but confused young daughter (Emma Fayo Duarte), and various friends, co-workers and extended family members. So what’s happening with her? The subtle but sometimes-frustrating storytelling approach employed here may at times be off-putting to viewers (myself included) who are earnestly trying to understand what Lina is going through. But, then, perhaps that’s the very intent the filmmaker is going for, putting mystified audience members squarely in the lead’s shoes to show them what life is truly like for her. It’s obvious that Lina’s on some kind of quest to find inner contentment, an objective poetically depicted through several gorgeously filmed montages fittingly backed by the lyrical strains of “Venus, the Bringer of Peace” from Gustav Holst’s “The Planets.” However, as the picture unfolds, this narrative approach begins to wear a little thin, coming across more like a series of disjointed random acts than a cohesive story trajectory, leaving viewers wondering where the film is headed and whether Lina’s dilemma will ever come close to some form of resolution. As the film’s title implies, she truly feels adrift in the currents of life, a sensation that she finds can be both troubling and liberating yet always innately unpredictable, hence the inherent uncertainty in the flow of the film. To its credit, this offering’s stunning cinematography (especially in its seemingly innocent portrayals of potentially shocking plot developments) and superb lead performance make for a genuinely mesmerizing watch, but, even with those fine attributes, I still kept hoping for something a little less atmospheric and a bit more elucidated. Ultimately, both viewers – and Lina – deserve more.