The story of Mecha (Graciela Borges), a middle-aged woman in her 50s who has several teenagers. Her husband Gregorio (Martín Adjemián) wants to remain looking young, and both of them have to deal with their gloomy Amerindian servants, whom Mecha accuses of theft and laziness.Stephen Holden wrote, "The steamy ambiance in which the characters fester is a metaphor for creeping social decay...La Ciénaga perspires from the screen, it creates a vision of social malaise that feels paradoxically familiar and new." The best part is early on, where the clinking of glasses makes everything else soundless. What is being said about these people who do nothing all day but drink and lounge around a pool far too filthy to swim in?

As you can tell from the reviews this is one of those films that people either love or hate. What will be your reaction? I propose a simple test. If you loved Ang Lee's "The Ice Storm," you'll probably love La Ciénaga as well. And if you found it unbearable (as I did), you'll probably find this unbearable as well.I can't say it sucks; after all, the critics adore it. I can say that after the promising opening, the film seemed to me to be less a depiction of morass and more a morass itself, swallowing the viewer into an unmanageable plethora of characters ranging from the unlikeable to the despicable.However, there is one character who does become fairly sympathetic. And when you identify that one, you can pretty much guess how the film ends. Stupid me, though. I subjected myself to these toxins to the end.

Well, first of all, I hope this comment is been red by someone. What I have to say is simple. This movie's success depends on each viewer's interpretation (did I spell it right?). Of course I understand those who had bored watching it, I would have too, but I'm studying to be a director....and I'm used to being patient, and paying attention to symbols, etc. Anyway, I didn't get that analysis (againg the spelling) of Argentinean society, it could be applied to the movie if you think about it, but......There are other things that came into my mind while watching it. And those things are sexuality, bodies, skin, youth, desire. Knowing Lucrecia, I think this was her intention. But, of course, to sell the script to the Spanish-French producers you need to include that Argentinean analysis crap to be considered

"La Cienaga" (The Swamp) spends its 1:45 run examining the trivial daily activities of two families spanning three generation as they vacation in the sweaty climes of a run down Argentinian resort. There's no story arc in this film which ends much as it begins with bored family members who seem as uneasy with each other as they are with the humidity and temperature while they do the most mundane things. "La Cienaga" is so flat, in fact, that there's hardly a reason to recommend it save the fact that is so real and so much spot on with writer/director Martel's vision of bourgeois discomfort that it compels the viewer to watch vicariously and voyeuristically eking out moments of resonance. Not for the average film goer, this flick will work bests for foreign film buffs into plaintive studies of daily life. (B)