The Headless Woman (La Mujer sin Cabeza)

Time Out film“A work of frenzied genius...” In what could be one of the greatest films ever made about the emotional realities of a damaged mind, this giddily disorientating latest from Argentinian director Lucrecia Martel is a work of frenzied genius...

Guardian“Nothing short of a masterpiece...” Each time I have seen it, this film has swirled residually in my subconscious for days. Disturbing and deeply mysterious, this tale of ghosts and guilt is nothing short of a masterpiece...

Total Film “A rich, tantalising thriller where nothing much happens...” It’s dense and inscrutable, yet Martel’s precise compositions, the partly natural, partly strange dialogue and the intense performances tease, please and demand repeat viewings...

The Telegraph“Chances are you’ll leave Martel’s film wanting to see it again...” It’s a thriller of sorts, a social satire in the spirit of Luis Bunuel, a mesmerizing portrait of a middle-aged woman adrift in modern Argentina...

The Times“There’s something watchable about Onetto...” Far from being the gorefest you might imagine from the title, this is a low-key, meandering drama from Argentina that, apparently, has something important to say about class, self-absorption and the overall badness of bourgeois society...

The Independent“Destined to become a classic...” The Headless Woman is no willfully opaque puzzler designed to alienate; Martel is out to confound and bedazzle us, and to worry us too. You'd have to be headless or heartless yourself not to let this extraordinary, eerie film get under your skin...

Variety“Its denouement is chilling...” Martel once again demonstrates an acute eye for detail that forces auds to study her compositions and dialogue closely. For instance, just after the accident, the sunlit glare shows small, child-sized handprints all over the driver's side window...

The New Yorker“Practical craft but little originality...” Martel tries to have it both ways, attempting to construct a rich reality by accretion of ordinary and realistic detail, while stacking the narrative deck so rigorously that the characters evaporate into symbols almost upon their appearance...

Empire“This is as much a socio-political allegory as a thriller...” Slow-paced and self-indulgent in places but a bravely intense use of camera work to explore the internal psychology of the characters...

Little White Lies“Not yet reviewed”