LA FLOR

A film by Mariano Llinás
2018, 868 minutes
No. 237
Narrative


LA FLOR

$750.00
Description
A decade in the making, Mariano Llinás’s La Flor is an unrepeatable labor of love and madness that redefines the concept of binge viewing.

The director himself shows up at the start to preview the six episodes that await, each starring the same four remarkable actresses: Elisa Carricajo, Valeria Correa, Pilar Gamboa, and Laura Paredes.

Overflowing with nested subplots and whiplash digressions, La Flor shape-shifts from a B-movie to a musical to a spy thriller to a category-defying metafiction—all of them without endings—to a remake of a very well-known French classic and, finally, to an enigmatic period piece that lacks a beginning (granted, all notions of beginnings and endings become fuzzy after 14 hours).

An adventure in scale and duration, La Flor is a wildly entertaining exploration of the possibilities of fiction that lands somewhere close to its outer limits.


Festivals
Winner, Hubert Bals Fund Lions Film Award, Rotterdam International Film Festival
Winner, Best Film, Buenos Aires International Film Festival of Independent Cinema
Official Selection, New York Film Festival
Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival
Official Selection, Locarno International Film Festival

Reviews
“A labor of love and obsession by the Argentine filmmaker Mariano Llinás… There are touches of the playful, philosophical fantasizing of Raúl Ruiz. A touch of Buñuel. Hints of Borges and Bolaño.” - A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“Grade: A. A landmark in filmmaking.” - Leonardo Goi, The Film Stage

A triumph. A colossal artistic achievement by a filmmaker who can be declared genius, mad, or an impostor (or all of them). It’s predestined to inspire a well-deserved cult.” - Guillermo Lopez Meza, Film Forward

“Extraordinary. One of contemporary cinema’s great collaborative undertakings.” - Jordan Cronk, Cinema Scope

"The mere fact of its existence is cause for amazement, but even more astonishing is the impression that it is just the tip of an iceberg—that it could keep going, a never-ending film." - Dennis Lim, Film Comment

"An astonishment... a dazzling collision of stories and genres, flashbacks and voiceovers, games and riddles… extraordinary... sweeping and addictive… the definition of a must-see." - Justin Chang, LA Times

“A love letter to cinema itself. The movie earns its length, and will fully reward anyone willing to take it on.” - Dan Schindel, Hyperallergic

“A marvel. La Flor is like nothing else you’ll see this year — or next year, last year, or any other year. A singular experience.” - Michael Nordine, The Wrap