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‘Magic Farm’ Review: Acerbic Comedy About Culture Clash Follows Clueless Americans in Small-town Argentina
Amalia Ulman’s sophomore feature highlights the ineptitude of an American filmmaking crew and the resourcefulness of their Argentine counterparts.
Cumbia music is the one grounding constant in Argentine-born Spanish filmmaker Amalia Ulman’s sophomore effort “ Magic Farm,” a formally radical, biting satire about odious, privileged Americans adrift in a remote Argentine rural town. Realizing they traveled to the wrong San Cristobal, Jeff pivots to fabricating a new religious cult-related story with the help of people in the area, namely Popa (Valeria Lois) and her daughter Manchi (Camila del Campo). The tone of “Magic Farm,” as well as Ulman’s artistic intent, is strongly reminiscent of the acerbic, cross-cultural work of Chilean filmmaker Sebastian Silva, particularly of films such as “Crystal Fairy” and the more recent “Rotting in the Sun,” where he also chronicles the behavior of clueless, sometimes insufferable gringos in Latin America.
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