# Trenque Lauquen (film)

Trenque Lauquen is a 2022 mystery-drama film directed by Laura Citarella, and starring Laura Paredes, who co-wrote the screenplay with Citarella. A sequel to Citarella's Ostende (2011), the film premiered in the Orizzonti section of the 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival. It was theatrically released in two parts.

## Plot

A woman disappears and two men go out on the road to look for her: they both love her. While looking for her, they wonder why did she leave, and although each man has their own suspicions about the real reason, they keep their thoughts hidden from each other, all the while never really becoming rivals. The sudden escape becomes the hidden core of a series of vignettes that the film delicately weaves: the secret of another woman's heart, also lost, many years ago; the secret of the life of a town in the countryside, governed by a supernatural incident that no one seems to perceive; the secret of their region's plains, which never cease to spread and devour everything, like the mysterious shadows that invade the world after the hour of twilight.

## Cast

* Laura Paredes as Laura
* Ezequiel Pierri as Ezequiel aka 'Chicho'
* Rafael Spregelburd as Rafa
* Elisa Carricajo as Elisa Esperanza
* Verónica Llinás as Romina
* Juliana Muras as Juliana
* Cecilia Rainero as Normita

## Release

The film had its world premiere in the Orizzonti section of the 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival. It was later screened at various festivals including San Sebastián International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. In the US, it was released in two parts on 21 April 2023.

## Reception
### Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 91 out of 100, based on 7 critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Trenque Lauquen was ranked first on Cahiers du Cinéma's top 10 films of 2023 list.

### Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for Trenque Lauquen :
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
| Venice Film Festival | 10 September 2022 | Orizzonti Award for Best Film | Laura Citarella | Nominated | |
| San Sebastián International Film Festival | 24 September 2022 | Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Prize | Trenque Lauquen | Nominated | |
| Film Fest Gent | 22 October 2022 | Grand Prix for Best Film | Trenque Lauquen | Nominated | |
| Mar del Plata International Film Festival | 12 November 2022 | Astor Piazzolla Award for Best Feature Length Film – Latin American Competition | Trenque Lauquen | Won | [10] [11] |
| Mar del Plata International Film Festival | 12 November 2022 | Alta Definición Argentina Award to the Best Film in the Latin American Competition | Trenque Lauquen | Won | [10] [11] |
| Mar del Plata International Film Festival | 12 November 2022 | Eva Landeck Award | Laura Citarella | Won | [10] [11] |
| International Cinephile Society Awards | 12 February 2023 | Best Picture | Trenque Lauquen | Won | |
| International Cinephile Society Awards | 12 February 2023 | Best Director (Tied with Albert Serra) | Laura Citarella | Won | |
| International Cinephile Society Awards | 12 February 2023 | Best Screenplay | Laura Citarella, Laura Paredes | Won | |
| International Cinephile Society Awards | 12 February 2023 | Best Ensemble | Cast of Trenque Lauquen | Won | |