Silent film as an allegory for the lost voices of the suppressed and the monopolisation of media. That’s what Esteban Sapir’s film La Antena mostly is. Mostly, because in an interesting blend of modern film and stylistic choices inspired by the likes of Georges Méliès and Fritz Lang, sound and spoken text are an inherent part of the story. Original set design and cartoonish visual language are blended with cinematography that reminisces the olden days of film. 

In a metropolis of an unknown future, the people have lost their voices and can only speak by mouthing out words that appear as text bubbles in the air. They are ruled by the tyrannous Mr TV, who has monopolised all words and images. The people have no choice but to consume only what he presents them, whether it’s food or the media. The only person who still has a voice, the mysterious singer La Voz who hides her face beneath a hood, is kidnapped by Mr TV in a plan to seek complete control over his citizens with a new and dangerous technology. An inventor witnesses her kidnapping and decides to take matters in his own hands to try and stop the apocalyptic plan. Although the film is almost twenty years old, its themes feel eerily relevant in today’s world.  -Lucas

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