Argentine Director Martín Rejtman's "La práctica" Explores Detachment and Obsession

The author discusses director Martín Rejtman's film "La práctica," which recently appeared on the streaming platform Mubi alongside works by Wong Kar Wai and Valdimar Jóhannsson. Rejtman's distinctive style, characterized by personal filmmaking and a resonance with youthful cultural movements, is highlighted, particularly recalling his earlier film "Silvia Prieto" (1999). "La práctica," filmed in Chile, retains Rejtman's signature elements: paradoxically detached yet obsessive characters, repetitive situations creating a unique rhythm, and an acute observation of contemporary life's subtle details. The film also features Rejtman's characteristic understated and effective humor, often built on repetition. "La práctica" centers on Gustavo (Esteban Bigliardi), a yoga instructor navigating the dissolution of a relationship. The narrative follows Gustavo as he moves between residences, maintains his teaching routine, experiences injuries, and endures seismic events in Chile, which he initially labels a "terremoto" but later faces with less specific naming. The film is noted for its lack of solemnity, presenting characters in a few interconnected situations, bound by chance and appearing deceptively apathetic. Despite Gustavo's reserved demeanor and physical setbacks, including a knee injury and a cast, he persists. His mother, Mirta Busnelli, travels from Argentina to Chile, her purpose ambiguous. Gustavo continues to observe, adhere to his rules regarding student-teacher relationships, and seek meaning at retreats, acknowledging, as Rejtman's cinema often does, that such meaning may not be found externally.