Soledad

To some she was a dangerous terrorist; to others, a hero. In Agustina Macri's dramatisation of events that took place in Italy in the Nineties, Soledad Rosas (played by Vera Spinetta) is simply a young woman trying to find direction in life. Moving back and forth in time to explore her developing political beliefs and sense of self, the film puts its focus on her personal experiences rather than on the political impact of her actions (real or perceived). In so doing, it restores humanity to a situation where it has often been forgotten.

There's a tacit assumption that viewers coming to this film will already be aware of the history behind it, something which is likely to be a problem for those outside Argentina and Italy. Soledad came from the former, from a privileged life with servants, and travelled to Turin, where she was abruptly confronted with the idea that all workers are servants - or slaves - to rarely glimpsed masters. Attracted to this revolutionary way of thinking, she became part of a small anarchist collective - "just kids playing," as one security official described them, but others took their actions rather more seriously. Their principal point of focus was a high speed railway line passing through the Susa Valley, which would remain contentious for many years thereafter. It was seen as taking goods from one rich area to another with no real benefits for those living in between, and plenty of drawbacks. There they carried out small acts or disruption until larger events changed everything.

There's a keen sense here of the social mechanics of such groups and the ways in which adopted politics interacts with long established expectations of privilege as well as differences in character. Soledad makes certain assumptions and mistakes born out of her different class background, yet we don't really get the impression that the others are as solidly rooted in the working class as they suggest, and she also has to deal with their assumptions being projected onto her. As well as having to prove herself as a novice, she has to prove herself because of her sex - although no-one expresses it directly, she always seems to be treated as a follower, not expected to have valuable ideas of her own. Yet young and impressionable as she is, she falls head over heels in love with young rebel Edoardo (Giulio Maria Corso). He's passionate and determined and very sure of himself so it takes a while for her to figure out that he's just as lost as she is.

It's these interpersonal dynamics that make the film interesting, though Macri's focus may disappoint viewers hoping for a more political take. Spinetta turns in a valiant central performance, everything resting on her slender shoulders. She's in almost every scene and has the difficult job of keeping viewers rooting for Soledad even when she's at her most uncertain, simply being carried along by the tide. The result always feels human and real, and emphasises just how young most revolutionaries are and how much else they have going on in their lives besides the stuff that hits the headlines.

There's something about Macri's style and Daniel Ortega's cinematography that makes this film look distinctly South American despite its Italian setting. It captures the period very effectively, which in turns helps to evoke something of the tension in the area at the time even though we rarely stray outside the bubble of the collective. When we do, it is to spend time with security operatives so distant in age and lifestyle that we wonder how they could ever expect to understand their quarry, to guess at what they will do and what they won't do, and even viewers who don't know the history will quickly become aware that we're on course for tragedy.