MONTANA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2020 REVIEW! The day before their wedding, Laura (Jazmín Stuart) and Daniel (Esteban Bigliardi) arrive at her father, Leon’s (Gerardo Romano) ranch, to finalize the preparations for the big day. Laura is anxious and drinks too much as the evening wears on, which sets the stage for a situation that goes violently pear-shaped in the Argentinian thriller The Silent Party.
We learn early on that Laura is a person who does not often hear the word no. When she and Daniel are headed to the ranch, her speeding and aggressive driving make him nervous. She doesn’t mind taking risks and is clearly the dominant personality between the two of them.
“She heads right for the gun cabinet and straight back to the party to find her attackers.”
Her father, Leon, dotes on her and calls her princess. Nothing is too good for his beautiful daughter. In his eyes, Daniel, in fact, may not be good enough, as he shows some disappointment and resignation that she didn’t choose someone with a more assertive personality. We never learn directly what Leon does, but we overhear a phone call in which the conversation relates to a court case. Perhaps he’s a lawyer, maybe a judge. He’s a powerful man of means, this much is clear.
Laura tries on her wedding dress and starts drinking champagne. When Daniel cautions her about drinking too much, she brushes him off and goes to find her father. Leon is blowing off steam out in a field shooting at cans with a new gun. He encourages her to take a few shots.
Later, when everyone else has gone for the evening, she’s still restless and goes for a walk. She finds herself at the next house over, where a strange, zombie-like crowd of silent dancers sway as if there was a band. She looks puzzled until someone puts headphones on her, and suddenly, the silent party makes sense. This is a college party, and she dances and drinks. A couple of the men at the party take note of her and come out to dance. Someone hands Laura a drink. In short order, she’s led off, perhaps drugged, and voluntarily making out with one man, when another one, uninvited, sexually assaults her.
"…a little bit Telenovela, a little bit grindhouse, and 100% quality."
