Leap Year

This is a work of almost ascetic severity, shot entirely inside the Mexico City apartment of a freelance journalist named Laura (played by the marvellous Mónica del Carmen). But somehow Leap Year uncovers an entire world, recounting a sweeping psychological narrative of a woman’s descent into delusion, sexual obsession and self-destruction and then her voyage out again. Focusing on the details of everyday life with a camera that rarely moves, Rowe manages to make Laura’s story both gripping and dramatic. Andrew O'Hehir, Salon

This complex story moves into some profoundly troubling places and the sexual scenes are explicit and realistic. The film is at times intensely uncomfortable to watch as Laura’s loneliness and isolation lead her to seek out more extreme means of connection with the random men who flow through her life. A haunting, emotionally provocative portrait of a young woman and the invisible forces that shape her identity.

Laura, una joven escritora freelance (interpretada increíblemente por Mónica del Carmen) sólo sale de su departamento para ir de compras. Es una optimista empedernida que se empeña en ver situaciones positivas donde no hay más que caminos sin salida.

Año Bisiesto evita la categoría “mexicanos del inframundo,” y le da a su protagonista, Laura, una profundidad psicológica ausente en esos otros retratos. Si bien su raza y su estrato social juegan un papel en la historia, no son, en sí mismos, la historia. Fernanda Solórzano.