The unpredictable mystery being called ‘best film of 2023’

Unsettling puzzle of a movie is destined to become a cult classic

A new film is about to be released in the UK that easily ranks as one the best of the year.

It’s been an exciting year for film thanks to the release of acclaimed horrors, and blockbusters about everything from toy dolls to the man who invented the atomic bomb.

But this Argentine-German project is a standout – and what initially comes in the guise of a straightforward mystery drama about the disappearance of a botanist evolves into something else entirely.

Titled Trenque Lauquen, the film begins as a man named Ezequiel “Chicho” Pierri attempts to track down an acquaintance named Laura (Laura Paredes) after she ups and leaveseft the sleepy titular province of Buenos Aires seemingly without alerting anyone.

It’s through a series of unsettling discoveries he makes during his search for Laura that this epic tale, split into 12 parts, takes on a labyrinthine genre-shifting form and leads viewers through a journey that veers into unexpected places. Let’s just say: nothing is as it seems in this film that has shades of David Lynch and Alfred Hitchock while almost remaining a distinct work from Argentine director Laura Citarella.

The four-hour long film was shown in full, albeit with an interval, when it was screened at Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) and Venice Film Festival earlier this year, but is being released theatrically in two parts, making for a unique cinema-going experience.

Trenque Lauquen is a follow-up to Citarella’s little-seen Ostende, which was released in 2011 and, while the film is only getting a small cinema release, it’s well worth finding time to seek it out – and the critics are in agreement.

Financial Times called it “hypnotically unpredictable” while Little White Lies branded it “one of 2023’s most astonishing films”, and drew comparisons to Lynch’s cult TV series Twin Peaks.

The film was also ranked as the best film of the year on the annual ranking by esteemed French magazine Cahiers du Cinéma, alongside releases including Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, Justine Triet’s cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall and Fallen Leaves by Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki.

Meanwhile,The Guardian was less convinced by the film, but acknowledged that Citarella’s “film-making language ensures that cult status beckons”.

‘Trenque Lauquen’, starring Laura Paredes, is one of the best films of the year (Bulldog Distribution)

Trenque Lauquen – Parts 1 and 2 are in cinemas and on Curzon Home Cinema from 8 December