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To the Desert

Name: To the Desert
Director: Ulises Rosell
Released: 2017
Duration: 94 min

2017

Director

Ulises Rosell

Runtime

94 minutes

Average Rating

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Synopsis

Julia works as a waitress on the night shift of the Comodoro Rivadavia casino. There, she meets Gwynfor, a customer who offers an interesting work opportunity in the oil industry. And so, what starts out as a morning appointment, résumé in hand, becomes a nightmarish journey in the middle of the arid landscape of Patagonia, a space Ulises Rosell uses with the cinematic power of a western, with the inclemency of the sun and the darkness of night ravaging the protagonists. Inspired by the stories of captive women from the 19th century,

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Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

5.4/10

Fair

Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Limited

The story focuses on a heteronormative interaction between Julia and Gwynfor. No queer identities or romances are present in the narrative.

Gender Representation

Good

The film subverts Western tropes by centering on a female protagonist's survival. It explores female agency against systemic male aggression and predatory encounters.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Fair

Set in Argentina, the film moves away from Anglo-centric storytelling. However, it lacks specific evidence of intentional intersectional or non-white majority representation.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Good

The narrative critiques capitalist structures and the reliability of professional institutions. It favors a survivalist ethos over traditional social or religious orders.

Disability Representation

Fair

There is no mention of characters with physical or neurodivergent disabilities. Environmental hardships are situational rather than representative of permanent identities.

Strengths

Subverts traditional Western tropes by centering a female protagonist's survival.
Provides a strong critique of predatory social and capitalist structures.
Uses the Patagonian landscape to explore themes of agency and vulnerability.

Areas for Improvement

Lacks representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-cisnormative characters.
Provides no visible inclusion of characters with physical or neurodivergent disabilities.
Does not explicitly engage with diverse racial or intersectional identities.

AI Analysis

To the Desert reclaims the Western genre by shifting the focus from masculine conquest to female endurance. By placing a woman at the center of a predatory encounter, the film challenges traditional patriarchal structures and the myth of the frontier hero. While the film offers a nuanced critique of institutional stability and gender hierarchies, it remains limited in its scope of identity. The narrative lacks representation for LGBTQ+ communities and individuals with disabilities, sticking to a more traditional character framework. Ultimately, the film succeeds as a progressive genre subversion. It uses the harsh Patagonian landscape to strip away social protections, highlighting the fragility of safety in a world governed by systemic aggression.

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