A middle-aged housewife, cherished by her husband and two sons but nevertheless taken for granted, discovers an aptitude for jigsaw puzzles in this beautifully modulated character portrait. After a broken dinner plate leads to an epiphany, María del Carmen (played by Maria Onetto, star of Lucrecia Martel’s The Headless Woman)  begins assembling newly purchased puzzles on a small table. Though her husband wonders what the point is, she perseveres, eventually signing up for a competition with a wealthier, more extroverted man named Roberto as her partner. Much of the film’s delight comes from watching the characters develop—as María finds the missing piece in her life, the members of her family tacitly acknowledge the ways in which they were keeping her from becoming whole.


Written by Natalia Smirnoff. Photographed by Barbara Álvarez. With María Onetto, Gabriel Goity, Arturo Goetz. (89 min. In Spanish with subtitles, IFC)
Members $9; seniors/students/disabled $10; general $11. Tickets go on sale Monday, September 5.