Cinema Latino: Without a Trace [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Ana, an educated art historian, and Aurelia, lone mother of two, are two women in trouble, one with the law and the other with drug trafficking thugs. Their paths cross as Ana asks if she can get a ride with Aurelia to Cancun as both attempt to escape their pasts. This is in the backdrop of a vicious serial killer that has murdered over 250 women and haunts all women in Mexico. Without a Trace is a wonderful road movie about the two women as they try to change their lives on their own in the shadow of a patriarchal society. Novaro creates a motherly environment as mother Aurelia breast feeds and nurtures her little baby, but also a tough femme fatale atmosphere with the women drinking beer in different bars. These two aspects of the women are brought to the screen with strong drama and comedy as the women venture for something better. In the end, Novaro creates a wonderful cinematic experience that both entertains and enlightens the audience.

Other reviewers have sketched the plot, and this looks at the broader aspects of the film.

Although it's a road-adventure story, the heart of the film is the relationship between the two women. Most of the weight of the film rests on the lead actresses, and their ability to keep the viewer interested in them and their perils. Tiare Scanda and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon both give marvelous performances and are completely convincing in their roles.

For those learning Spanish, the DVD has English and Spanish subtitles, and the Spanish subtitles are an accurate transcription of the words spoken. If you can't follow the dialogue, you can peek at the subtitles to learn what the words are. That's a big help in picking them out and becoming accustomed to how they sound in normal speech.

Some of the lines are delivered rapidly and none too clearly, which is normal in real-word speech. Compared to the other Spanish DVDs in my collection, though, this one is quite easy to understand. Some Mexican slang is used, but not much. The film is aimed at an international audience and sticks closely to standard Spanish.

Most of the characters speak with a Mexican accent and vocabulary, but according to the story, Ana was raised and educated in Spain. She has a pronounced accent of Castille, which the Mexicans find quite amusing. Mendizabel and Aurelia both poke fun at her accent, and the look on Ana's face is priceless. She has heard it all before, and is mighty weary of it.

For the student, it's a chance to hear the contrasting accents side-by-side.

This has become one of my favorite films in any language, and I highly recommend it.

When first released, Maria Novaro's film was understandably poked fun as "Telmita y Luisita" by the press. To be fair, there is more to the movie than what that remark suggests, and there lie its virtues and defects. Like Novaro's "The Garden of Eden" (also on DVD), the film tries to link Mexican gender and politics. In "Sin dejar huella", Novaro tackles drug-dealing and the rape and disappearance of factory workers in Mexican border towns, by weaving together the stories of two very different women: a sophisticated art smuggler and an uneducated factory worker (played by two excellent and attractive actresses, Spanish Aitana Sanchez-Gijon & Mexican Tiare Scanda). The leads are lovely to look at, the film has a great soundtrack, and there are gorgeous shots of Mexican landscapes, but by the time the two women start their cross-country journey running away from drug dealers, the film degenerates into a conventional road movie that never really pays off in its premise. It's no "Thelma & Louise" or "Y tu mama tambien", but still, its decent enough for a rental.