‘Magic Farm’ review: Chloe Sevigny, Alex Wolff star in uneasy Argentina-set satire

Dir/scr: Amalia Ulman. Argentina/US. 2024. 93mins 

A clueless American documentary crew travels to Argentina, the place they fail to get their story however maybe achieve one thing extra profound, on this ragged however affecting fish-out-of-water comedy. El Planeta writer-director Amalia Ulman’s second function tackles exploitation and cultural tourism, the movie’s genial floor belying a quiet anger beneath. The solid, led by Chloe Sevigny and Alex Wolff, ably skewer the American media’s ignorance of the broader world, however Ulman’s compassionate movie holds out hope that completely different peoples can nonetheless make connections, even when they don’t communicate the identical language. 

The movie’s genial floor belies a quiet anger beneath

After premiering at Sundance, Magic Farm heads to Berlin’s Panorama part. Mubi will likely be dealing with the movie for US, the UK and different territories, though this decidedly oddball image appears to be strictly an arthouse proposition. Blended opinions could additional restrict business prospects.

The movie introduces us to Inventive Lab, a hip New York media firm that travels the world chronicling weird native traits. Led by cynical host Edna (Sevigny), they make their strategy to the small Argentine city of San Cristobal the place, in response to her insecure producer Jeff (Wolff), a singer often called Tremendous Carlitos has turn out to be a viral sensation by performing in a rabbit swimsuit. However as soon as they arrive, they realise that San Cristobal is a typical identify for cities throughout Latin America, and so they’ve gone to the unsuitable nation. With no topic for his or her movie, they now should invent a narrative so that they have one thing to deliver again to their bosses.

Ulman, who hails from Argentina and performs the corporate’s long-suffering assistant (and lone Spanish-speaker) Elena, has made a pointed commentary about spoiled younger American media professionals that’s hidden in a typically shambling hangout comedy. Whereas El Planeta, which additionally premiered at Sundance, was a comparably targeted comedy about an eccentric daughter and mom — starring Ulman and her personal mom Ale — Magic Farm consists of a number of subplots all tied again to the documentary staff’s feeble makes an attempt to fabricate a pattern piece. 

In brief order, the spineless, overly delicate Jeff turns into interested in a neighborhood magnificence, Manchi (Camila del Campo), whereas one other crew member, the hunky Justin (Joe Apollonio) develops an in depth bond with a delicate, anonymous older man (Guillermo Jacubowicz) who oversees the dingy motel the place the crew is staying. As for Elena, she simply discovered she’s pregnant, which she is preserving from Edna — together with the truth that she is secretly speaking to Edna’s romantic and artistic accomplice Dave (Simon Rex), who has returned to New York, fearful that Inventive Lab could also be near chapter. Inevitably, some storylines are extra compelling than others. (The subplot involving Justin and the motel employee is definitely probably the most tender and memorable.)

If Magic Farm appears to be yet one more takedown of ugly Individuals traipsing via overseas lands, the writer-director humanises her protagonists sufficient that their failings are funnier consequently. Wolff nails Jeff’s blithe stupidity, revealing the depth of his shallowness in such a approach that we perceive why he believes himself to be a considerate, conscientious particular person. His rapport with del Campo is endearing, however his co-star springs surprises that counsel Manchi is hardly bamboozled by this seemingly refined New Yorker.

Magic Farm incorporates the occasional scene shot with a whimsical fish-eyed lens, which emphasises the sense of displacement these Individuals really feel in Argentina, the place the language barrier and ravenous mosquitoes begin to take their toll. Composer Burke Batelle, higher often called Hen, utilises quirky digital sounds that additional add to the disorientation – though these playful noises additionally counsel that, whereas Ulman has a critical intention, she additionally possesses a cussed affection for these US journalists. 

Nonetheless, that deceptively frivolous tone can’t obscure the upsetting issues we hear in passing about San Cristobal, which is battling poverty, riots, harmful airborne chemical substances and a fascist authorities. Tellingly, these info are regularly offered within the background whereas the Individuals focus their energies on a fabricated pattern piece. As Magic Farm makes plain, there are literally many extra essential tales to inform about Argentina — to not point out the remainder of the world — if solely the mainstream US media cared. Ulman slyly attire up these considerations in a lightweight comedy, however she is aware of it’s no laughing matter.