The Swamp
2001 · Movie · R · 101 min · ★ 6.9 · 82% critics
In sweltering northern Argentina, two middle-class families spend time at a rundown country estate and a modest townhouse. Over unspoken desires, gossip, and tense everyday routines, relationships strain as class, tradition, and faith quietly shape how they treat one another—especially with children and servants around.
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Streaming on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel — or rent from $3.99.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Original title
- La Ciénaga
- Years
- 2001
- Release date
- 2001-04-12
- Language
- Spanish
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Critic score
- 82/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.9/10 (163 votes)
About
Choose this only if you enjoy tense, character-focused dramas that linger on everyday discomfort; Not for you if you want a clear plot arc or fully likable characters, or if you prefer something more straightforward like Silent Light or The Holy Girl.
Pros: steamy discomfort; vivid daily tension; captivating early moments | Cons: hard to follow; few satisfying payoffs; characters often unlikeable
Themes
- argentina
- racism
- summer
- drunk
- racial prejudice
- racial stereotype
- woman director
- bad parenting
- sweaty
- lazy
Cast & crew
Mercedes Morán
as Tali
Graciela Borges
as Mecha
Martín Adjemián
as Gregorio
Leonora Balcarce
as Verónica
Silvia Baylé
as Mercedes
Sofia Bertolotto
as Momi
Juan Cruz Bordeu
as José
- NH
Noelia Bravo Herrera
as Agustina
- ME
Maria Micol Ellero
as Mariana
Daniel Valenzuela
as Rafael
Directed by Lucrecia Martel