Within minutes of our introduction to him, down on his luck, Peruvian taxi driver Carlos (Gonzalo Molina) will claim he’s an actor, he works at an export company, he does “security stuff,” he’s been hunting crocodiles in the jungle, and he survived a car bombing at a police station. The one thing this gentle fabulist is not is a decent father, and his desire to change that before it’s too late forms the crux of director Klaudia Reynicke’s supremely well-observed Reinas. The Swiss-Peruvian Reynicke has achieved a minor miracle here, assiduously avoiding melodrama as Carlos tries to reinsert himself into the lives of young daughters Aurora (Luana Vega) and Lucia (Abril Gjurinovic) before their mother, Elena (Jimena Lindo), permanently relocates them to America.
Reynicke’s focus on the family is even more impressive considering the film is set in Lima in 1992, a dangerous period of hyperinflation, civil unrest, and terrorism-fueled political violence. But such real-world considerations are kept mostly hovering like a shadow in the background as Elena tries to navigate Carlos’ reentry into her daughters' lives while hoping he won’t scuttle their bright American future. Reinas, which is Reynicke’s third feature, is a deftly told drama of great sensitivity that’s attentive to the needs of its well-drawn characters.
In Reinas, Dad Is a Secret Agent, a Taxi Driver, and a Liar
Queens is the English title for Reinas. Two teenage sisters are about to leave their country forever when they unexpectedly reconnect with an absent father. This relationship will both amplify and ease their pain of change.
- Release Date
- November 29, 2024
- Director
- Klaudia Reynicke
- Cast
- Jimena Lindo , Gonzalo Molina , Susi Sánchez , Luana Vega
- Runtime
- 1h 44m
- It's a fine grained and realistic look at a family.
- The performers are terrific especially Gonzalo Molina.
- It provides insight into the tragedy of Peru during the 1990's.
- It assiduously avoids melodrama so some viewers may find it slow.
It would have been easier to make Carlos the villain of Reinas, since the future of Elena and her daughters rests solely upon what he does or doesn’t do. But Reynicke is not interested in black-hatting Carlos. As played with equal parts good nature and opaqueness by Molina, one senses that Carlos has been estranged from his daughters for years, reflected in a deep sadness and shame that he hides underneath his puppy dog charm. But he’s still unreliable, and Elena’s family wants nothing to do with him.
Nevertheless, he’s invited to Aurora’s 18th birthday party, where he arrives predictably late and filled with excuses. The fact he’s invited at all is bizarre until we learn that Elena needs Carlos’ signed consent on the travel documents that will allow the girls to leave Peru for America. As the clock ticks down to their departure date, Carlos’ repeated promises to sign the documents continue to go unfulfilled. And while we initially assume this is because Carlos is a horrible absentee father and ex-husband, Reynicke has something less floridly dramatic and more humanist in mind.
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Reynicke was born in Peru and left the country for Europe at age 10 during his home country’s lengthy dark period. So it’s no surprise she has such a rich and detailed feel for the confusion that Aurora and Lucia experience as their departure for America draws nearer and the father they hardly know is suddenly back in their lives. But Carlos is genuine and without guile in his desire to spend what limited time he has left with the daughters he calls "mis reinas" (Spanish for "my queens"). He takes the girls to the beach where he teaches them to boogie board and buys them new swimsuits at a roadside stand using an old tire as payment. As the girls begin referring to Carlos as “dad," the excellent Molina makes us root for him, even if Elena continues sweating out his empty promise to sign the travel papers.
It's a Drama About The Fragile Nature of Family
Reynicke and Diego Vega’s script reminds us of the fragile nature and complex dynamics of many family units. Elena, who lives in a well-appointed home while Carlos makes a questionable claim to living in a penthouse-quality apartment, allows her ex-husband time with his daughters because she needs his signature. But as the girls begin to thaw out towards their father, Aurora begins to question her desire to leave Peru to the dismay of Lucia, who prefers following her mother.
Under Reynicke’s controlled direction, these conflicts develop with the understated matter of fact realism of life. For the most part, even the country’s political turmoil only creeps in from the edges, as when Carlos returns home with the girls past the government-mandated curfew and later arrives at the breakfast table with a gigantic sack of sugar, which has become prohibitively expensive as Peru’s economy falls apart. Where he got the sugar is a question wisely left unanswered.
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All the performances here avoid playing up the drama and indulging in histrionics, including Lindo, whose portrayal of Elena as a strong and reasonable person makes her a character worth caring about. Vega and the adorable Gjurinovic make a warm and realistic pair of sisters, fighting over who sits in front of the fan on a hot day and trading eye-rolls at Carlos’ latest tall tale.
Like everything else in this deceptively simple production, the behind-the-scenes contributions enforce the reality of the story. DP Diego Romero Suarez Llanos’ bright, clean lensing and Susana Torres’ lived-in production design suggest that both rich and poor are at the mercy of how far Peru has fallen.
Will Reinas Be Oscar-Nominated?
Reinas, which is Switzerland’s submission for the 2025 Best International Feature Film Academy Award, is drama at its most human; a sincere look at a family quietly navigating internal and exterior turmoil. We may not relate to living in a crumbling Peru in 1992, but we recognize the small moments that become indispensable childhood memories and the big decisions that impact everyone’s struggle to find happiness.
Reinas, from Outsider Pictures, opens in New York and Los Angeles on November 29. Find more information and showtimes here.
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