'Cutting off your foot with a chainsaw': things aren't always what they seem

Dirty (2023) has been the main success of the young actress, playwright and director Barbara MestanzaA proposal born from a traumatic personal experience that became a play, documentary and book. Dirty It was catharsis, the angry yet defiant cry of a woman who had been abused by a masseur without knowing how to react. In her new proposal, Cutting off a foot with a chainsawMestanza returns to the theme of sexual abuse against women, focusing not so much on the female victims, though they too are affected, as in the so-called cancel culture that socially and personally ostracizes aggressors, whether guilty or victims of a trap or revenge.

This cancellation often begins with the publication of victims' complaints in the media, as we experienced not so long ago. Of course, everything changes when one of the accused, a certain Ramon Roig, is on the brink of death after a suicide attempt. The situation shifts even further when it appears that some of what was published is not entirely accurate. Regarding the text, the author aims to explore the sense of guilt and responsibility of the journalist (Bárbara Mestanza) who wrote the article; the confrontation with her boss (Rosa Boladeras) regarding the demand for rigor in her work; and the disastrous consequences for the accused and his daughter (Júlia Molins). And all this while maintaining a passionate and striking feminist discourse against patriarchal power within a somewhat unclear and needlessly drawn-out dramatic structure.

In terms of form, the director makes heavy use of audiovisual tools (streaming, projections, music), even to excess; she employs a curious context of medieval references (including Gothic script and Gregorian chants); and an inexplicable wardrobe that does no favors for either the narrative or the actresses. What remains is the passionate cry of a reality that is increasingly relevant and controversial. And I'm not referring to Julio Iglesias, but to the case of a former Junts deputy politically and socially ruined by false accusations.