A Chekhovian tragicomedy, the astonishing feature debut from Lucrecia Martel offers a brilliantly executed exercise in claustrophobia as it captures the temperature and texture of provincial life in the high plains of north-west Argentina. Martel’s highly original approach forces you to find your own way into and through the story as she follows – in a style that approximates a woozy, drunken haze – a mother trying to keep her home and family together.