La mujer sin cabeza

In the psychological thriller THE HEADLESS WOMAN (LA MUJER SIN CABEZA), the affluent Verónica is momentarily distracted by her phone on a deserted road in the Argentine province of Salta. She feels a violent jolt but drives on in shock, assuming she hit a dog. In the days that follow, however, she becomes increasingly disoriented. When a local child is reported missing, her initial doubt spirals into suffocating paranoia: what if she ran over a human being?

Director Lucrecia Martel, a leading figure of the cinema of Argentina, uses this incident to mercilessly dissect the Argentine bourgeoisie. As soon as Verónica’s family gets wind of her suspicions, they close ranks to protect their privileges. Without ever establishing the true facts, they systematically erase any potential trace of the accident. In doing so, Martel exposes the bitter contrast between an untouchable upper class and the virtually invisible working class serving them in the background.

Beneath this oppressive microcosm lies a deeper historical trauma. The family’s collective cover-up and Verónica’s own psychological repression serve as a subtle metaphor for how Argentina deals with its dictatorial past and the issue of the ‘disappeared.’ Driven by a hypnotic lead performance by María Onetto, the film demonstrates how an entire class bends reality to its will to simply wipe away guilt and social responsibility.