You are here:

The Idea of a Lake

Name: The Idea of a Lake
Director: Milagros Mumenthaler
Released: 2016
Duration: 79 min

Representation Score

6.5/10

Good

2016

Not Rated

Director

Milagros Mumenthaler

Runtime

79 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The film excels at centering a female protagonist whose intellectual pursuits and personal history drive the plot. By focusing on the psychological remnants of a military dictatorship, it provides a non-Western perspective on historical trauma. However, the narrative lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities or disability. While it avoids traditional straight-centered clichés, it does not actively incorporate queer narratives or diverse physical experiences. Ultimately, the work is a sophisticated study of how political violence reshapes identity, prioritizing individual truth over state-sanctioned history.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does The Idea of a Lake have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film does not include any explicit depictions of LGBTQ+ characters or relationships that go beyond the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.

How does The Idea of a Lake portray gender?

Good

Inès is a strong central figure whose professional and creative efforts drive the story. The film focuses on her internal journey and perspective rather than her relationships with men.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Idea of a Lake?

Good

The film is set in southern Argentina and provides a non-Anglo-centric perspective. It centers on the specific socio-political history of South America and the impact of the local military dictatorship.

How does The Idea of a Lake represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film explores systemic trauma and state power by critiquing authoritarian structures. It examines how political oppression destabilizes the family unit and individual memory.

Does The Idea of a Lake include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no evidence of physical or neurodivergent disability representation within the provided narrative details.

Present on Screen

Strong female protagonist whose professional and creative efforts drive the story.
Nuanced exploration of South American socio-political history and systemic trauma.
Subverts traditional historical clichés by prioritizing subjective, fragmented memory.

Limited or Absent

Lack of explicit LGBTQ+ representation or queer narratives.
No visible inclusion of characters with physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Inès, a professional photographer, decides to complete a book she is working on before she gives birth to her first child. This photography project, related to the memories of her childhood, always brings her back to the same place: the family home in southern Argentina that shaped her youth and forged her character. It also contains the only photo Inès still has of her with her father, before he disappeared as a victim of the military dictatorship. This photo is the starting point of a jigsaw puzzle of fragmentary memories about the relationships Inès had with her mother and her brother.

How are these scores produced? →