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Harina

Name: Harina
Director: Joanna Cristina Nelson
Released: 2018
Duration: 15 min

Representation Score

5.8/10

Fair

2018

TV-14

Director

Joanna Cristina Nelson

Runtime

15 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Harina is a localized socio-political drama that finds its strength in systemic critique rather than identity-based representation. It effectively captures the friction between individual responsibility and state failure during a period of economic collapse. The film succeeds in providing a non-Western perspective by centering the Venezuelan crisis. This provides real power to characters navigating a specific regional struggle, moving away from traditional Western-centric storytelling. However, the narrative lacks diversity in terms of LGBTQ+ identities and disability representation. The focus remains strictly on the domestic and economic pressures facing the central characters.

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Category Breakdown

Does Harina have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film focuses on domestic tension between a son and his mother. There are no visible LGBTQ narratives or non-straight identities present.

How does Harina portray gender?

Fair

The story centers on a male protagonist and his mother. The mother is portrayed through a nuanced, non-idealized lens as a source of emotional pressure.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Harina?

Good

Set during the Venezuelan crisis, the film centers a Latin American context. This disrupts Anglo-centric cinematic norms by focusing on regional systemic failures.

How does Harina represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The narrative offers a strong critique of dysfunctional state and economic institutions. It highlights the breakdown of social order through themes of hyperinflation and black markets.

Does Harina include disability representation?

Minimal

The primary character arcs do not depict any visible or invisible disabilities.

Present on Screen

Provides a necessary non-Western perspective by centering the Venezuelan socio-economic crisis.
Offers a sophisticated critique of dysfunctional state and economic institutions.
Avoids idealized gender roles by presenting a nuanced, pressured portrayal of the mother.

Limited or Absent

Lacks representation of LGBTQ+ identities or queer narratives.
Does not include characters with visible or invisible disabilities.
Focuses narrowly on a specific domestic and economic struggle.

Official Synopsis

Roberto is a middle class working professional trying to survive hyperinflation amid the Venezuelan crisis while maintaining his unemployed mother. An argument breaks out when she asks him to buy flour for her birthday cake. In an effort to make amends, he resorts to the black market to buy the scarce food, but gets caught in the violent looting of a market.

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