237. Litigante; movie review

LITIGANTE
Cert TBA
93 mins
BBFC advice: TBA

Unfortunately, we all have our crosses to bear and they are likely to include the death of a parent.
I am very lucky that both of mine are alive but I hope that when they do pass they depart with rather more grace than Letitia (Leticia Gómez) in Franco Lolli's Litigante.
During her final weeks, she imposes misery upon her devoted daughter, Sylvia (Carolina Sanín) who is simultaneously nursing her and try to defend a high-profile corruption allegation.
Her mum has no sympathy with her daughter - sniping at her constantly and receiving a volley of verbals in response.
Having read a brief synopsis of Litigante, I expected there to be keener focus on the legal mire in which Sylvia is embroiled.
She is the lawyer of a local authority which is being accused of wrongdoing in a headline-grabbing planning process.
She believes she is playing things straight but her ruthless boss not only shrugs off her advice but seems prepared to throw her to the wolves.
Meanwhile, her mother, resigned to her fate, decides to reject any further treatment for her terminal cancer.
Litigante tells a very credible story of a woman under intense pressure at work and at home and Sanín and Gómez are excellent.
It turns out that the latter is the director's mother and is not a professional actress. The greatest compliment I can give is that I would never have known.
However, the film goes over the same ground too often and isn't as dramatic as I had first hoped.
And, unfortunately, it feels as if Lolli ran out of ideas with an ending which is deeply unsatisfying.

Reasons to watch: Stand-out performances by Carolina Sanin and Leticia Gómez
Reasons to avoid: Repetitive and unsatisfying ending

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? Transparency International's 2019 Corruption Perception Index, based on experts' and businesspeople's perceptions of corruption in the public sector, ranked Colombia 96th out of 180 countries.

The final word. Franco Lolli: "I love conflict in life and I love conflict in cinema, probably because I love people who fight, who resist. Cinema that moves me the most is a cinema of life..."

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