172 Film Review: Migration, Regional Traditions, and the Intricacy of Documentary Representation in Cuates de Australia and La chica del sur
by: Tomás Crowder-Taraborrelli, Everardo González, Cuates de Australia (Drought).
Mexico, 2012 José Luis García La chica del sur (The Girl from the South). Argentina, 2012
Approaches to telling a story are, of course, abundant. Latin American filmmakers borrow from all kinds of artistic traditions—literature, pop music, the plastic arts, home movies, etc. What makes this borrowing both draining and stimulating is that the web offers an excess of examples to draw from. Further, digital production and online distribution are cultivating a new kinship among filmmakers, visual traditions, and viewers across the world. This is a daunting realization that the current crop of young filmmakers is trying to grapple with. Two recent documentary films from Mexico and Argentina bring the topic of social and cultural migration into focus, giving international audiences the opportunity to enter otherwise inaccessible worlds. Cuates de Australia (Drought) from Mexico and La chica del sur (The Girl from the South) from Argentina display contrasting approaches to portraying the hardships of relocation.
