The movie
The Siamese Bond
Fortysomething Stella lives with her ailing mother, Clota. When Stella’s long-estranged father - and Clota's long-ago-divorced husband - dies and leaves Stella two apartments on the coast, the two embark on a bus trip that will change things forever.
Description
Mothers and daughters and the often-fraught ties that bind serve as the subject of Paula Hernández’s expressive drama. Fortysomething Stella (Valeria Lois), single and searching, lives with her ailing mother, Clota (Rita Cortese, Wild Tales), whom she dutifully cares for while longing for some kind of escape. When Stella’s long-estranged father- and Clota’s long-ago-divorced husband - dies and leaves Stella two apartments on the coast, the two embark on a bus trip that will change things forever.
This is very much an actors’ film; the chemistry between Cortese and Lois is evident from frame one, and their difficult shared history is made palpable through their passive-aggressive interactions. But this is also a director’s film: the mise-en-scène is carefully controlled - on the claustrophobic bus trip, especially - to subtly add depth to both characters and to evoke the growing tension between two people with very different hopes and desires. Something has to give…