As the movie opens we see the interiors of two cars. In one, Horacio is driving his father Don Arcadio and his cleaning /cooking lady Dominga to the family's summer home in rural Tucumán province. In the other Don Arcadio's son Jorge is driving his wife Amelia and their teenage daughter Natalia to the same destination. They join Yola, Don Arcadio's daughter, to spend the weekend together. The main purpose of the meeting is to discuss the sale of the property to smooth over family financial problems.
Shortly after they arrive, Dominga, who was hiding her pregnancy with tight clothes gives birth to a baby girl assisted by Yola, the rest of the family hardly interested. Dominga is not driven to hospital or a doctor with her baby thus putting her life and the baby's in jeopardy. The reason seems to be that knowledge of Dominga's pregnancy will cast suspicions on the male members of the family. Instead, Dominga is given a pittance by Don Arcadio and driven away by Yola to a nearby town. Yola eliminates all traces of the birth as if if it was a crime.scene. Dominga's situation is dire; the baby makes her unemployable and tragedy ensues.
The movie shows starkly the chasm between haves and have nots in Argentina. Amelia refers disparagingly to Dominga as "india" and "negra" (black) both of which mean having native ancestors; this is a blot for the have class, who claim pure European ancestry. Servants have no rights and work in a situation of semi-slavery. They can be fired at any time, no notice of compensation.
It liked this movie. It shows the hypocrisy and cruelty of a class of people with deft, sometimes surrealistic touches, without preaching or pontificating. Acting is good all around, direction is fluid and cinematography is especially good in interiors, with some pictorial shots whithout artificial lighting. The title La Hija (The Daughter) probably refers to two examples, Natalia, free to indulge in her teenage fantasies, and Dominga's baby without a name to a place in the world.
