OPENS FEBRUARY 13, CERT 15, 90 MINS
The premise is hardly promising: two tough Argentinean lesbians kidnap a dowdy lingerie store worker, steal a taxi and head south for some crrrazy adventures with a mad maiden aunt. And yet, Suddenly, the slow-burning debut from Diego Lerman, is all about undercutting expectations. So criminal sapphic hipsters Mao (Carla Crespo) and Lenin (Veronica Hassan), with echoes of Baise-Moi, kidnap tubby Marcia (Tatiana Saphir) at knifepoint and demand: “Let’s go fuck! I wanna eat your pussy!” But the bravado quickly subsides, and the movie instead focuses on the shifting power relationships between the three women. Similarly, the inky, saturated look has a hidden logic, moving from the Godardian cool of early scenes in Buenos Aires to a fuzzy, dreamlike resolution in the countryside. The cast acquit themselves amiably, with Hassan in particular simmering in a role that’s practically mute for the first half of the film and then, as the title suggests, suddenly reveals hidden depths, particularly in the poignant closing scene.