Rara

I'm writing this review as a balance to several of the other reviews which seem most of them to have been written by the same person, repeating the same topics which really are not relevant at all for this film (like absence of special effects or boring music) and with very similar choice of words.

This is a sensitive, low key film about growing up in a different type of family combined with the difficulties of puberty. The lesbian couple in the film has built a very normal family, with times of fun and tenderness, and also times when discipline has to be imposed or arguments ensue, like any other family. This is used by the much more affluent father to obtain custody of the two girls.

A slow, deep and sensitive film about growing up, with very subtle nuances, and really lovely actors among the adults and the children.

The film is set in Viña del Mar, Chile. As a native speaker of Spanish from Spain I had some difficulties understanding parts of the spoken language, as it happened to me when I visited Chile, and I'd have been thankful for subtitles, which my streaming platform (the wonderful Filmin) didn't provide. For other Spanish speakers not used to the Chilean variety, a word frequently used in this film and which I had to learn while in Chile is "pololear" (be in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship).

Rara is about Sara, a 13-year-old girl in a town in Chile, who lives with her mother, her younger sister, and her mother's lesbian lover.

The film follows Sara as she navigates the usual perils of puberty and of growing up after a divorce. Sara tries to make sense of her world and gain some sort of control over it by playing her mother against her father, unwittingly setting off a legal battle that may destroy what little remains of her home.

Rara is full of sharp observations of family dynamics. Sara's squabbles with her pesky, insecure sister are totally believable. So are the grown-ups' reactions as the stress builds.

All the performances of the actresses (and the one actor) are excellent, except for Sara's best friend, who is merely good. Two of them, Sara and the mother's lover, are perfect.

The photography is clear and well-lighted and as sharp as the observations.

My only negatives about this film are that it was a bit too slow, the takes were too long, and that nothing really happens in it: the legal story takes place off-screen.