Blanca lives in a foster home for minors run by Father Manuel. A sexual scandal involving businessmen and politicians puts Blanca and Manuel in the eye of the press, turning Blanca into a feminist martyr and key witness of the case.
Screened at this year’s 79th Venice International Film Festival, just like Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs in the US, “Blanquita” is based on a similar scandal that rocked Chile years ago. Although the screenplay is undoubtedly dark, it is also an urgent tale, subtlety told with some genuine thrills. Centered on the titular character (Laura López in an astonishing debut performance), who goes by Blanca for short, lives in a shelter with children who have all survived some form of abuse. A few children claim to have been abused by an elite group of pedophiles run by wealthy people, including an influential Senator.
Carrying her tiny baby, the teenage Blanca is searching for her friend Margarita who went missing and was a witness to the atrocities carried out by the abusive ring. Meanwhile, Manuel, the shelter’s devoted caretaker and priest, is threatened by powerful Chilean officials to give up the children and cease running the refuge due to Blanca’s accusations. To make matters worse, Blanca has to face her alleged abuser in a cramped office for litigation where every statement is cross-examined. And finally, Carlos, a severely traumatized survivor at the shelter, describes how he was abused to Blanca, and she echoes these specific details to the investigators. Was she abused, or is Blanca lying to give a voice to the voiceless?
For its dour subject matter, “Blanquita” is suitably heartbreaking but not devastating. Overall, it is entertaining, full of tension, and methodically well-shot. The lack of cinematic pizazz on display using real locations and natural lighting removes stylish distractions and thus keeps important events front and center. Aside from the powerful true story to tell, Laura López’s breakout role is incredibly assured and raw. Her performance is one of the best at Venice this year, even better than the “Don’t Worry Darling’s” suspicious press tour.
“Blanquita” recently premiered at the 2022 79th Venice International Film Festival
