Nosilatiaj.Beauty

Every country has, in its history, a record of indigenous people and how they were treated. Argentina is no different and because it is relatively young, that treatment is ongoing.

This 2012 Seattle International Film Festival entry from Argentina (English captions) allows us to become acquainted with a family: the father is mostly absent, the busy mother is overworked, and the children are various ages, with the eldest a daughter whose fifteenth birthday is fast approaching. One of the quiet hard-working pillars of this group is an indigenous domestic worker named Yolanda. "Nosilatiaj. La Belleza" follows her situation.

We see:

• Rosmeri Segundo as Yolanda, whose Wichi grandmother instruc- ted her never to cut her hair. She proudly wears a thick wonderful braid far down her back as she cooks, cleans, washes clothes and generally keeps the household running smoothly while living far from her own family.
• Ximena Banus is Sara, the proud head of this busy household; she is a demanding but fair employer. She keeps a dozen irons in the fire while planning her eldest daughter's important Quinceañera. (Watch the look of pride on her face when the girl starts her dance.) A secondary thread begins when an earthquake shakes a nearby area. People are alarmed that there may be a stronger, closer one.
• Camila Romagnolo is the fourteen-year-old girl Antonella, who is the perfect out-picturing of Argentina's complete lack of under- standing or respect for the Wichi culture. Her upcoming birthday celebration is the only important thing in her life.
  

This film started so slowly and with such a placid voiceover I began to nod (it's my fifth week of screenings). Then I noticed that the people, and particularly Yolanda, had insidiously slipped under my skin and I began to care very much how she was overlooked, disregarded and generally taken for granted.

The final scene is a SLAP!