La mosca en la ceniza

Most of the filmmakers lead a troubled life as they have to prove that they are not a one hit wonder.It is always a challenge for a filmmaker to prove one's worth especially at a time when a director's first film has been a massive hit.Argentinian director Gabriela David must have faced this kind of quasi existential crisis after having made her first film Taxi,an encounter in 2001 which was a big hit on film festival circuit. However,she has proved that she is not a director who would only be remembered because of her first film as her second film "La Mosca En La Ceniza"/The Fly in the Ashes has done well both in aesthetic as well as commercial sense.Her film is a sad albeit poignant tale of innocent impoverished women who are forced to entertain men in a claustrophobic Buenos Aires brothel.Many a viewer might state that a tale about world's oldest profession directed by a woman director might possibly have some sort of a feminist angle.However,there is not even a slightest hint of feminism as Gabriela David makes good use of a brothel's claustrophobic atmosphere to drive home her point that no dignified girl or woman would give up her freedom,honor and pride for money.In many ways,Argentinian capital Buenos Aires is the real winner for Gabriela David as she has truthfully depicted its heart and soul in both her films.The mark of a great film is that a packed house at the start of a show should remain the same at its end too.This was exactly something which film critic Lalit Rao witnessed during 14th International film Festival of Kerala where he saw this film with Mr.Enrique Angelieri,Gabriela David's husband in real life,who edited this film.