The Currents Film Review: Ambiguous Drama

The Currents features a powerful performance from Isabel Aimé González Sola, but it changes direction and style, resulting in a confusing overall experience.

It’s an ambitious project which is anchored by Sola’s exceptional acting. Its relentless commitment to ambiguity, however, undermines the profound musings it attempts to make about womanhood, the self, and purpose.

The Currents relies on a loose narrative which invites viewers into the state of Lina’s mental health. She’s confused, curious, and carries deep trauma; rather than revealing this in chronological development, the film is like a collage of slightly related events that form a portrait of Lina. The first act is full of intrigue, yet the second act almost completely changes its style, especially its cinematography and score. It results in some whiplash after trying to follow an already confusing story, and the overall experience is inconsistent.

Sola’s acting is easily the most captivating component of the film. She portrays Lina’s brokenness, fear, and frailty in such a perfect manner that, even through a confusing plot, it’s impossible to lose interest in her character. Esteban Bigliardi (Society of the Snow) plays Lina’s husband, Pedro, excellently. His character serves as a voice of love and concern as Lina discovers her own personhood, though he appears less frequently than he should. Their on-screen chemistry is enchanting, both of them giving exceptional performances that improve the film greatly.

The final shot is gorgeous. It’s a beautiful way to conclude Lina’s development, as shaky as it may be. Perfect color grading and editing blend with Sola’s alluring performance to encompass everything the film was aiming for. It’s the best and most meaningful scene throughout the entire movie. 

Despite some positive elements, The Currents is too muddled and inconsistent as a whole to be a standout hit. If the cinematography, score, sound design, and writing were stronger throughout the entire movie, it would be far more engaging and immersive. Instead, a sudden decline in overall filmmaking quality makes the latter half of the film disappointing. This brings to mind the question of the limits of increasingly high-brow, arthouse films.

Mumenthaler clearly wanted to create a profound character study, and spends plenty of time studying Lina’s body and mind. But because of his unrelenting commitment to various cinematic styles that don’t blend well, the message of Lina’s complicated life is not as prominent or clear. Because Lina’s arc takes up so much of the runtime, Pedro and other characters are left wildly underdeveloped. Several sequences from various characters seem randomly included and later ignored, much to the detriment of the plot’s development.

The Currents features a powerful performance from Isabel Aimé González Sola and has a strong first act, but it forsakes its best elements and changes direction, resulting in a confusing and distracting overall film.

The Currents (Las Corrientes) was screened at TIFF on September 8, 2025.