Tribeca Review: Parallel Stories in “The Freshly Cut Grass”

By Abe Friedtanzer 

Most films tend to focus on one or several protagonists or feature a true ensemble where there’s no lead. It’s rare to find a film with two main characters who have absolutely nothing to do with each other, or at least don’t appear within the same narrative. Yet The Freshly Cut Grass does just that, following two intellectuals who are both not overly satisfied with their lives and begin to see the allure of something that feels distinctly fresh and unlike what they’ve felt in a long time…

Natalia (Marina de Tavira) is a geology professor who has no passion with her husband and is far more energized by Gonzalo (Emanuel Parga), one of the brightest grad students who works closely with her. Similarly, Pablo (Joaquín Furriel), also a professor, isn’t terribly happy at home and begins to fall for his student, Luciana (Verónica Gerez). Both engage in affairs that should put their very livelihoods at risk, but they throw caution to the wind if only for the enthralling pull of being seen through someone else’s eyes. 

Director Celina Murga delivers a fascinating product with The Freshly Cut Grass, which is remarkably attentive to both of its storylines without feeling the need to converge them, instead showing what similarities exist that could make Natalia and Pablo the perfect pair if only they overlapped or interacted in some way. It’s certainly a disorienting experience as a viewer, particularly for American audiences who may only know de Tavira, from her Oscar-nominated supporting turn in Roma.

But this experiment absolutely pays off, fleshing out not just these two melancholic souls but also the people in their lives, the young people who look up to them and don’t realize what an illicit relationship with a professor might do to their futures and their spouses who are equally unhappy but not prone to take the same extramarital steps to achieve fleeting fulfillment, as well as the children they both have at home. Watching all the drama play out is an invigorating exercise, and a nerve-wracking one at times since both academics have clearly put so much into building their reputations that could easily be torn down if news of their affairs were to leak, not to mention the impact it could have on their marriages.

Billed as a coproduction from Argentia, Uruguay, Germany, Mexico, and the United States, this film is full of intrigue but may frustrate audiences seeking an ending that wraps everything up in a neat bow for any of its characters. That’s perhaps why it’s most true to life, since sometimes things just happen and then life goes back to what it was. The Freshly Cut Grass showcases one of the more enlivening and interesting chapters for both of its characters, following two stories with commitment and a captivating energy. B+

The Freshly Cut Grass makes its world premiere in the International Narrative Competition at the 2024 Tribeca Festival.