Nordeste : the emergency state of a society in difficulties
The Argentine filmmaker Juan Solanas who won the 2003 Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival and the Cesar Award of the best short film in 2004 for L’Homme sans tête, is back again at Cannes with his first feature film. Presented as part of the Official Selection – Un Certain Regard, Nordeste takes us to an initiatory experience in Argentina.
Hélène (acted by Carole Bouquet who is absolutely human and very much at a loss in her part) has succeeded brilliantly in her professional life forgetting her private life. Today, a 43 years old woman, she decides to change her life and goes to Argentina in order to adopt a newly born child. When she arrives there, she witnesses a crude and brutal reality. Hélène discovers Nordeste, a wild region where the beauty of landscapes contrasts with the people’s misery. "I wanted to talk about Argentina which is both rich and poor and where people are so badly treated. The adoption theme came from there since countries where one can buy children are the poorest ones" explains the filmmaker who left his native land at ten years old for France where he still lives today.
Beyond this very actual theme of adoption and children sales, the film tackles and denounces all the underlying problems of a society in touch with corruption and injustice. Without suggesting any solutions, the film acknowledges failure on the emergency state of a society in difficulties through the inquiring and helpless eyes of a stranger coming from another universe.
Nordeste is produced by Onyx Films - Aton Soumache (France), K2 Productions – Dominique Janne (Belgium), Montfort Producciones (Spain), Polar Films (Argentina) and France 2 Cinéma.
(Translated from French)
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