MIFF 2019 - Day 1

Vivarium

There's always a few of these. An intriguing idea that manages to be entertaining and frustrating at the same time. It's a neat little film about a couple who end up trapped in a bizarre housing development, forced to raise a strange child. But it's parodies of social norms go nowhere, and it's horror feels too constrained to be very effective. It's not bad, the performances are uniformly amazing, but that's not quite enough to stop it being the kind of film you damn with faint praise.

Confesso

A short film about an odd true crime event. A hunter killed two rangers in a deserted hunting ground, then called to confess and say it wasn't intentional. But forensics proved he reloaded his shotgun and shot them again. I don't know what to make of it. Why did he call to confess?

Dark Suns

Another film about cartel violence in Mexico. But this one goes further to examine how both the gangs and the state itself use violence to keep the populace in fear, and compliant. It's sad and horrifying. And a monument to the bravery of its subjects. The families left behind, fighting for truth and justice for their lost loved ones.