La — Ritirata -2009-

As the trio works, the film’s rhythm becomes deliberately hypnotic and oppressive. Long takes of characters staring into space, the sound of a creaking floorboard, the distant barking of a neighbor’s dog. Fernández employs silence as a weapon. The lack of a musical score for long stretches forces the viewer to lean in, to listen for the truth buried under the floorboards.

The late 18th century in Spain was a melting pot of musical influences. It was the era of the Spanish court, the influence of the legendary Boccherini (an Italian who became the definitive voice of Spanish chamber music), and the rise of native composers. la ritirata -2009-

The performances are restrained to the point of pain. Juan Diego Botto, usually a charismatic lead, plays Nicolás as a man carved from stone—controlled, polite, and utterly terrifying. His is a performance of micro-expressions: a twitch in the jaw, a glance held one second too long. Bárbara Goenaga’s Clara is the audience’s surrogate, initially hopeful for reconciliation, slowly realizing that some doors, once closed, should never be reopened. As the trio works, the film’s rhythm becomes