Jauja

Two timeframes drive the narrative: the 1880s, when Danish Captain Gunnar Dinesen hunts for his daughter Ingeborg in Argentina, and a present-day sequence in Denmark where a young girl and her dogs hint at a cyclical link to the past. The 1880s frontier era is portrayed with military tension and survival against a harsh desert, while the present-day scenes frame memory as a living thread, implying that the past persists within the present.

The film unfolds across two stark settings: the arid Argentinian frontier where Captain Gunnar Dinesen searches for his daughter, and a secluded Danish mansion in present-day Denmark where Ingeborg awakens to a life that echoes the past. The desert landscape is merciless and endless, shaping the protagonists' resolve and blurring the line between memory and pursuit. The Danish mansion provides a claustrophobic counterpoint where generations feel the pull of history.

🕰️ Time

The film toys with time, moving between the 1880s frontier of Argentina and a present-day Denmark, suggesting that memories and destinies loop back on themselves. The narrative structure blurs chronology, forcing characters to confront echoes of the past in the present. The desert acts as a liminal space where time collapses and choices endure beyond mortality.

🪞 Identity

Characters cross identities across generations, with Ingeborg's presence in both eras complicating lineage and self-perception. The story asks who remains the 'self' when borders of time and place shift, and how memory shapes who we are. The revelation that the elder woman is the captain's daughter underscores the fragility of fixed identities.

🏜️ Pursuit

A relentless pursuit drives the plot: a father chasing his daughter through a merciless desert, echoing in the modern chase for answers in a Danish mansion. The pursuit tests resolve, moral boundaries, and the willingness to face the unknown. Through the chase, the film explores how desire and duty push characters to traverse impossible distances.