-Written by Michelle Vorob.
2024 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
¡Salsa! is a Colombian short film written and directed by Antonina Kerguelén Roman, about Margarita (Saray Nohemi), a woman trapped in her marriage, her village, her church. Her escape is at night, when she travels to a bar to dance.
We first see Margarita in intense close up, dancing, drenched in sweat, almost seductive, completely free and happy, lost in the music at a bar. When we see Margarita again, it's during her day to day life, folding laundry while her husband (Jhon Fredis Simarra) kind of scowls. It's hard to tell what the exact relationship is. I almost gathered they were married for the sake of conforming. We also see Margarita at church, her priest giving a sermon, saying the most beautiful woman is an obedient woman, and that is the basis of a happy, healthy family and society. While baring skin is not an issue in this film, the rigidity of a woman's traditional “place” in society still looms heavy.
Margarita is trapped in her everyday life and going out to dance at night is her only joy, her only way to feel free. One night at the bar, she meets a tourist, Liana (Isabelle Jessie Troup) and they have a strong connection, despite a language barrier and the fact that Liana is deaf. Attraction and love have no boundaries.
The women meet up again for a date. Everyone around them at neighboring tables are men, scowling, staring, commenting under their breath, judging these two women for being together. Margarita asks Liana if she can feel the men's eyes on them, judging them. Liana gets up to look at the jukebox. Margarita comes over and they start a song. They put their hands on each other, they dance, they kiss. Honestly, I thought they were going to be beaten and murdered, or run out of town, something. None of these things happen in ¡Salsa!
While done well, I wondered what the overall point was of ¡Salsa!. Is it simply a slice of life? Is it the message that some people can't live their truth? Is what we see the immediate “before” of a life that is about to change? ¡Salsa! doesn't give us any answers. Maybe the point is that society doesn't change unless we make it change, one decision at a time.
If you like stories that jump into what feels like an ongoing [sociological] narrative, that seems like you're watching a piece of someone's life, but give you no resolution at the end, you will probably like ¡Salsa!.
Written and Directed by Antonina Kerguelén Roman.
Starring Saray Nohemi, Isabelle Jessie Troup, Jhon Fredis Simarra, Gabriel Gonzales, Bartolo Cogollo, etc.
8/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING
