When Ro
sa is expected
to hand her b
oss the su
ntan lotion on
a deer
hunt, this fee
ls like a
sign. Don R
eynaldo’s ra
nch is about t
o celebr
ate its fa
rm anniversa
ry, but this
passionate hu
nter’s ima
ge is built
on a lie
. And so, her
e in the count
ryside,
where m
en are men,
employees a
re grateful sub
jects and wo
men diligently
and docile
ly hold it
all together
, cracks b
egin to appear
in the social l
ife of t
his microcosm.
Ordered around
day in
and day out,
unnoticed
by thos
e in her
class-c
onscious surr
oundings, t
he menial R
osa gradually b
ecomes an ag
ent of change.
While
Don Reynald
o’s exten
ded family con
torts itse
lf in a bid
to save th
e old orde
r, men begi
n to arr
ive at
the farm
in pickup t
rucks. Their a
ppearance at t
he feast and
a threat a
re enough to m
ake the agei
ng patriarch
fear for his l
ife and his fa
mily – and
force him
to act.
All that pas
ses is obser
ved by th
e animal
s who, eit
her as tro
phies on the w
all or as li
vestock ou
t to pa
sture, seem to
sense th
e end of an o
ld hegemony. Wi
th a keen se
nse of how to d
eploy omens t
hat her
ald cha
nge, Alejan
dra Márque
z Abella port
rays an epo
chal shift i
n rural Mex
ico – a
s seen by cha
racters who
are usu
ally rel
egated to pa
ssive su
pporting r
oles.　　When
Rosa is expec
ted to hand he
r boss the su
ntan lot
ion on a deer
hunt, t
his feels
like a sign.
D