Winner of the prestigious Camera D’Or prize for Best First Feature at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, and one of the most controversial films of the year, LEAP YEAR ('Año Bisiesto'), from Mexico, is the outstanding debut feature film of Australian director Michael Rowe, a character study on loneliness, featuring an extraordinary leading performance by Mónica Del Carmen ('Babel'), supported by Gustavo Sánchez Parra ('Amores Perros', 'Man on Fire').
This highly charged sexual thriller, set within the small confines of a Mexican apartment, follows 29 days in the dispirited life of freelance journalist Laura Lopez, as she moves from one anonymous sexual encounter to another.
Soon, Laura meets a man by the name of Arturo, and it is not long before she is submitting to demeaning sexual acts as part of their relationship, a tragic psychological reaction to a secret trauma from her past, which occurred on the previous leap year. When Laura marks a red square around an upcoming date on her calendar wall, the wheels are set in motion for what will turn out to be a startling conclusion.
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Reviews
"affecting, effective and stands comparison with Bertolucci’s ‘Last Tango in Paris'"
Trevor Johnston, TIME OUT
"intense, powerful...Monica Del Carmen...gives an outstanding, brave performance."
Philip French, THE OBSERVER
"tense and explicit... an intensely brave and believable performance from newcomer del Carmen."
TOTAL FILM
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"director Michael Rowe...succeeds beautifully...he layers his film with subtle mysteries, authentic dialogue and tiny, humorous details..."
LONDON EVENING STANDARD
"proves, if you were beginning to doubt, that people still make good grown-up films...an aromatic tale of love..."
Nigel Andrews, FINANCIAL TIMES
"an adult movie in every sense."
THE IRISH TIMES
"...extreme and explicit...an outstanding performance by Monica del Carmen."
Peter Bradshaw, THE GUARDIAN
"hypnotic"
LITTLE WHITE LIES
"thrilling"
EMPIRE
"Impressively directed and superbly written, this is an emotionally powerful drama with a stunning central performance from Monica del Carmen."
VIEW LONDON
"...made with compassion and impressive control."
SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE
"A fearless and haunting performance from relative newcomer Monica Del Carmen distinguishes Leap Year"
SCREEN INTERNATIONAL
"A bold, minimalist study of urban alienation...outstanding debut from Michael Rowe... performances of the two leads are strikingly committed"