『A Forbidden Love and Survival Story Born Amid Oppression and Violence』
🎥 Film Overview
🎬 Title: El niño pez (The Fish Child, 2009)
🌍 Country: 🇦🇷 Argentina
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Romance / Thriller
🗓️ Production & Release: Lucía Puenzo Films, 2009
⏳ Runtime: 100 min
📢 Director: Lucía Puenzo
🖋️ Screenplay: Lucía Puenzo
📖 Original Work: Novel by Lucía Puenzo
📺 Platforms: Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.
👩💼 Cast: Inés Efron – Lala
Mariela Vitale – Ailín / La Guai
🧩 Deep Story Exploration (Spoilers)
🌊 The Dynamics of Class and Power
The relationship between Lala and Ailín begins on a foundation of inherent power imbalance.
- A Forbidden Love Across Social Hierarchies: Lala is the daughter of a wealthy and authoritarian judge, while Ailín is a poor Paraguayan immigrant of Guaraní descent working as a maid. Their love is not merely a matter of sexual orientation but a direct act of defiance against class taboos. Lala’s home is also a place of exploitation and abuse (from her father) toward Ailín, making their relationship a form of silent rebellion against an oppressive household.
- Ailín’s ‘Worldly Experience’ vs. Lala’s ‘Innocence’: Although Lala appears privileged, Ailín has endured far more—her trauma from sexual assault by her father and the hardship of migration have given her a deep understanding of darkness, survival, and power. Lala’s naïve devotion brings Ailín comfort, yet Ailín’s cynicism and awareness of cruelty continuously test Lala’s idealism.
🧑🤝🧑 Devotion, Conspiracy, and the Dream of Escape
Their relationship goes beyond affection—it is bound by shared crime and an impossible dream.
- Criminal Conspiracy: To escape to Paraguay and build their ‘dream house,’ Lala executes a naïve plan with Ailín: stealing family valuables (such as paintings) and selling them through black-market dealers Ailín knows. Their willingness to cross moral and legal boundaries reveals that crime becomes their only path to freedom from systemic oppression.
- Mutual Devotion and Sacrifice: The story’s turning point occurs when Lala kills her father, and Ailín takes the blame and willingly goes to prison to protect her lover. This act of self-sacrifice shows that their bond transcends ordinary romance, embodying destined loyalty and extreme devotion.
- The Symbol of Utopia: Lake Ypoá: Their plan to build a small house near Paraguay’s Lake Ypoá represents a pure life free from oppression and trauma. Lala’s journey to Paraguay to save Ailín becomes a testament to her blind faith and determination to turn this dream into reality.
💫 Shared Trauma and Failed Redemption
As Lala tries to rescue Ailín, she comes face to face with Ailín’s deep-seated trauma and the truth behind her suffering.
- Ailín as a Mother: In Paraguay, Lala discovers Ailín’s tragic past—she was raped by her own father and gave birth to a child, linking her to the myth of the Fish Child. This realization forces Lala to see Ailín not just as a lover but as a woman carrying a painful and complex history.
- Redemption and Self-Discovery: Lala’s mission to save Ailín becomes a parallel journey of her own awakening and self-realization. She confronts the hypocrisy of her privileged world and her parents’ moral corruption, ultimately discovering what true love and justice mean.
- The Chains of Male Power: Their love remains haunted by the entrenched structures of male authority—from the corrupt police to Ailín’s past abuser. The abuse Ailín endures in prison symbolizes how their love story extends beyond two individuals into a fight against patriarchal oppression.
🐟 The Myth of ‘El Niño Pez’
- ‘El Niño Pez (The Fish Child)’: The film’s title and Ailín’s past connect to this Paraguayan myth—a magical realism motif symbolizing salvation. The Fish Child, a mythical merman from Lake Ypoá who “takes care of lost children’s souls,” mirrors Ailín’s trauma of losing her child and becomes a fantastical emblem of redemption and grief.
The love between Lala and Ailín is charged with erotic intensity and devotion, yet beneath it lie layers of social injustice, class inequality, and profound trauma. Their bond becomes the only means of escaping a broken world. Through this tragic story, director Lucía Puenzo portrays love as the fiercest force capable of confronting oppression, rendered with both tenderness and ferocity.
🎯 Personal Rating (By Taste)
💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥♥♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★★
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