It would be impossible not to compare La ausente (US: The Absent) with Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940) because all the same themes and story elements are present, but this production is Latin American through and through. In fact, Julio Bracho’s slow-paced, psychological, impressionistic film showcases some of the greatest talents in Latin noir: director Bracho, cinematographer Alex Phillips, composer Raúl Lavista, and prolific actor Arturo de Córdova, who stars here as the wealthy Jorge de la Cueva mourning the loss of his wife Isabel, who has just died in a mysterious car accident. After Isabel’s sister Magdalena (Maria Douglas), who had been living with them, goes abroad to visit family, Jorge finds himself alone in the mansion with their young daughter Rosita (Angélica María), that is until he’s paid a visit by a beautiful stranger named Monica (Rosita Quintana) who claims that Isabel had arranged for her to serve as Rosita’s governess, a proposal Jorge readily accepts. When Magdalena finally returns home, however, the atmosphere in the home has shifted, giving rise to resentments, suspicions, and unearthed secrets that may connect back to Isabel’s death. The wonderful Andrea Palma plays Jorge’s watchful sister Cecilia (Andrea Palma), the only character who seems to understand the dynamics at play. Psychological waves crash against the surface of the film, most prominently in de Córdova, whose gift for on-the-edge performances is on wide display here.