The Wrath of God (La Tra De Dios) is a newly released psychological thriller film from Argentina, which dropped on Netflix on 15 June 2022. It is based on the book Slow Death Of Luciana B by author Guillermo Martínez. The film is directed by Sebastián Schindel and produced by Buffalo Films. The adapted screenplay was co-written by Sebastián Schindel and Pablo Del Teso.
The film has a runtime of about 1 hour and 38 minutes. The cast includes Diego Peretti as Kloster, Juan Minujín as Esteban Rey, Macarena Achaga as Luciana, Mónica Antonópulos, Guillermo Arengo, Romina Pinto, Pedro Merlo, Santiago Achaga, Ornela D’elia and Juanita Reale among others.
-The Wrath of God Review Contain Some Spoilers-
Plot: Madness, Cruelty or Guilt?
The story revolves around a girl named Luciana Blanco, whose family members mysteriously die one after another in a span of 10 years. Luciana believes that her previous boss, with whom she ended ties on bad terms, has something to do with her family members’ deaths. At last Luciana and her sister, Valentina, are the only family members left living. Luciana is paranoid about losing her sister as well and decides to do everything in her power to keep her and her sister alive.
Luciana’s boss, Kloster, is a famous writer and even though she keeps on accusing him of killing his parents and 2 brothers, no action is taken against him due to his celebrity status and no thorough investigation. Kloster, calls her insane and obsessed to the point of making stories about him. Is Luciana really out of her mind and needs to put a blame on someone for her loss or is this a cruel plan by Kloster to take revenge against her?
The Wrath of God or Human Revenge
The film goes back and forth to show what happened in the last 10 years in parallel to what’s happening in the present time. It starts with a press showcase of Kloster’s new book, Odile and Odette. When he comes down the stage, he is approached by Esteban who informs him that Luciana is waiting for him on the third floor of the theatre. Kloster goes up to meet her and suddenly we hear the sound of someone falling, here the question arise, who fell down? Did Luciana push Kloster down the railing or the other way round?
We will get to know the identity of the person only at the end. We are then shown that Luciana used to work as Kloster’s assistant and would help him with writing his book. She even had a cordial relationship with his daughter and wife. But one day while working, he advances towards her and starts kissing. Luciana is appalled by it, which leads to her accusing him of sexual harassment in workplace.
The case gets settled very quickly as he just pays her the money without any retaliation. But little did we know that Kloster’s wife saw the case notice and took her as well as the daughter’s life in anger. She was already dealing with some mental issues and it triggered her to take such an extreme step which left Kloster in despair.
After learning about his loss, Luciana blames herself and feel like whatever that’s happening to her family is because of that. Kloster is trying to take revenge on her in the same way by killing her family members one by one. But she has absolutely no evidence to prove that as everyone died in mysterious ways like an accident or food poisoning etc.
Now, the central themes on which the plot is build is quite direct. Lex Talionis is often mentioned in the film, which a is principle developed in early Babylonian law that says, criminals should receive as punishment precisely those injuries and damages they had inflicted upon their victims. This is what Kloster’s new book is based on, could be called his muse and gives a justification behind the killings, if done by him.
Other reference in the film is about Odile and Odette, the characters from Swan Lake. In fact Kloster’s wife used to be a ballerina before she got injured in a car accident which costed her career and drawn her to depression. So does that mean, her wife is Odette (the cursed one) and Kloster is the prince who falls in love with her but, then enters Luciana as Odile, which destroys both of their lives? And later on Odile takes Odette’s place and her sister Vanessa become the new Odile, which will become the cause of despair for Luciana.
Final Thoughts: Stream It or Skip It?
The Wrath of God on Netflix is a captivating story which deals with the themes of deception, seeking the truth and the theory of divine justice. And how a thirst for revenge can blind people to retort to extreme ways. The characters are well played by the actors and the storyline is grappling enough to make you stay till the end.
The Wrath of God is streaming on Netflix.
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This is the most misogynist movie I have ever seen. A women is tormented by her abuser. Until she has to kill herself to let her abuser have her daughter
Come on. This movie was made by men