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The story is about Julia, a woman whose life is spent inside a bathtub where she hides from the abuse of Marcos, her husband. Julia, the ill-treated woman, appears naked, fragile and silent because she is annulled and minimized. Julia hides her husband’s belt in the bathtub and resists giving it to him, which infuriates Marcos more and more, who desperately looks for it. Marcos' power is not only in the belt, it also is in the psychological pressure he exerts through his son Marquitos, whom he asks for help to find the belt. Marquitos grows up and decides not to continue looking for the belt and after arguing with Marcos, he leaves home. Then some of Marco's relatives arrive and encourage Marcos to exercise his power and ask Julia for the belt. Throughout the film Julia does not grow old and watches the years go by from the bathtub, blocked without progress, unhappy. Finally, in a fight Julia pulls out the hidden belt, the water ends up overflowing and flooding the bathroom and they are submerged in the water. The belt gets caught on the bottom of the bathtub, and Julia tries to make the young Marcos leave it, but he is unable to do so. Julia finally swims to the surface and emerges in the middle of the ocean, free of their relationship. In the short film, there are a lot of details and symbolic elements that I would like to stand out. We can observe several times the dripping of a tap in the foreground, the rhythm changes: the closer to the moment of aggression the faster it goes, generating a tense atmosphere. A very important element in the story is the bathtub, which on the one hand represents the place where she is sheltered and feels protected, but on the other hand it is also the place where she is locked in and her husband can control her. The level of the water in the bathtub is a reflection of the cycle of gender violence, when the bathtub is full, it means that there is an explosion, and when the bathtub empties it returns to the remorse phase. Another important symbol that is present is the belt, which he desperately seeks because with it he can control his wife. It is a symbol of power, domination and male chauvinism that pass from generation to generation in order to the tradition is maintained. The ring that appears on several occasions is the tie that keeps Julia and Marcos together.  Another aspect is the fact that the bathroom door is always open, which is a form of constant control by Marcos. Moreover, the toy plane represents the ignorance of Marquitos. When it breaks up, Marquitos realizes what is happening but he is not conscious of the danger that the situation entails.

 

“El orden de las cosas” has had a great impact on me, as the film is so thought-provoking. I found it incredible how so much violence and suffering can be shown in such few minutes. I would say that it is an out of the ordinary film, as I found the ending very original, with the bathtubs stranded on the seashore, representing that she is one more of the women who have been freed from their prison. The thespians perform very well, and I really liked Julia's performance. Her expression reflects fear, despair and being uncapable of getting out of an anguished and painful life. There are a lot of short shots and close-ups of the characters and scenes, which obtain more drama in the scenes, bringing us closer to the feelings of the characters. Moreover, cold colours predominate, the blue of the bathroom tiles, the clear light, creating an atmosphere of coldness, isolation, melancholy and sadness. The photography is remarkable, achieving scenes of great visual beauty. The script and the scenography are very sharp and ingenious, with symbolic elements and metaphors. Also, there are no images of violence: there are no screams or blows, we see the bruises but not the whipping by the belt, as it happens in the society in which we live. There’s silence in front of the mistreatment. With all the symbolic elements that appear - the water, the bathtub, the belt, the broken toy - the short film makes us feel in our own skin the suffering of the victims of mistreatment and makes us reflect and raise awareness about this cruel subject of mistreatment.

 

I believe that this short film is a skillful piece of filmmaking, I strongly recommend the short film. I really like the way the different aspects of gender violence are expressed, and it can make you realize about real problems that women suffer in the raw reality. The main way to end gender-based violence is prevention. This includes a global change in the way relationships between women and men are viewed, a questioning of social roles and stereotypes, of language, etc. Fear and psychological dependency cause women to remain in silence, without asking for help. Encouraging victims to report, and providing the tools and protection to do so, is a way to protect women.  Sexism is something that is learned. Equality must be learned too. We must reject violence and build on respect for human rights.