Victoria Galardi: La Semilla Analysis🇦🇷

"La Semilla", de Gianfranco Quattrini

The Argentine Short, La Semilla (The Seed), is a 6-minute film written by Victoria Galardi and directed by Gianfranco Quattrini in 2006. It spirals through an unexpected relationship dynamic. It displays love as a catalyst for indecision. In the first shot, we see half of the frame showing 4 pictures hung and the other half showing a faceless woman walking into a bedroom. She is wearing a green cardigan and green hair tie. The greenish aura gives off a fresh look as if she is ready to plant a new seed or start another chapter in her life. A disheveled man walks toward her, hesitant to the point where he steps back from the woman. Monotone yet confounded, she questioned his speed to pack before she entered the apartment. A slight pace in his voice indicates his desire to move on, further reinforcing his decision to pack early. He attempts to psychologically comport himself into thinking his feelings for her are gone and that he is ready for his new seed.  

She moves her hand up and down against the wall. This movement enables her body to sense the connection she has with the home. However, her green persona conflicts with the lingering emotions she holds for the apartment, or perhaps more accurately, for the man. 

We then start to see her pale face. She has thin symmetrical eyebrows, small lips and nose, blue eyes, and a side part. She looks around the room, noticing how fast the photos were taken down. This reinforces the significance of the opening shot, featuring 4 uneven photos with a few noticeably absent beside them. The man tells her to not mention her observation as if it will obstruct his goal to remove her from his life. 

Subsequently, she sorts through her box filled with belongings. She pulls out a tchotchke that is not hers, claiming she does not want it. The man uses a direct tone to express what he believes she desires. She wants the book Joaquín Sabina, Perdonen La Tristeza (Joaquín Sabina, Forgive the Sadness). The book goes through the complexities of human relationships. Her decision to choose this book emphasizes her depth of care toward the man. Even though they avoid verbalizing their tension, they speak through their choice of items. 

Instead of handing her the book, he gently throws it on the floor next to her. He avoids their hands touching each other because of the complexity of love. The woman then throws it abruptly into a box and tapes it up. As she does so, the man cannot pull himself together. His eye contact shows his infatuation for her with closeups of her biting the tape. The level of heat internally starts to impact externally. The woman takes off her cardigan. When her skin shows, the man sits beside her with a better view of her face. 

He wants to discuss how they would like to distribute some items. They build upon the flirtatious nature with brief sentiments about the teapot and orange dessert dishes they both want. The power of the orange item brings optimism into the future as they accept their departure from one another. They decide to draw their names to see who would keep the item. The girl writes Luis and Luz. Luis means someone glorious in battle and Luz means light in Spanish. Luis cannot contain himself and starts to make love to Luz. Afterward, his name was chosen to win the power to move on with the dish. Luz looks at the paper intensely after they make love. She then stares at the man in an emotionally attached way. He pretends his sex with her never happened; he was glorious in the battle to stay emotionally intact. She sheds light on his unrequited love with her hands lying side by side to accept a new seed.