ScreenFish

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Film

7.22 Charting a New Legacy IN THE HEIGHTS

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Though most know him best as the creator his mega-hit HAMILTON, Lin-Manuel Miranda got his start with IN THE HEIGHTS. Set in the Washington Heights community in New York, HEIGHTS tells the story of Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), a young man who has big dreams of leaving his home and returning to his birth country. When a blackout knocks out the power for days, Usnavi and his friends must navigate life, love and moving forward. This week, The Dream Team returns! After a long hiatus, Jolie Featurstone (TO Film Files) and Julie Levac reunite to talk about what it means to leave a legacy, celebrating community and the tension between the way out and the way back.

You can stream the episode on podomatic, Alexa (via Stitcher), Spotify or Amazon Podcasts! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts!

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

7.22 In The HeightsDownload

Luca: Finding Your Way (With Some Help)

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“Just follow my lead . . . I know what I’m doing.”

One of the strangest books that I’ve had the opportunity to read involved a seaside town, romance, swashbuckling feats, and unique creatures not indigenous to the local population. It was also a parody.  Entitled Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben Winters, it’s exactly what Jane Austen would’ve penned at her desk if she had a penchant for the macabre. There’s little to say about the plot that isn’t given in the title, so I’ll spare you the details (except that Leviathan makes an appearance). 

Thankfully, Pixar’s latest film Luca does not go the way of Winter’s book. It tells a tale of three kids who, in many respects, find their way in life—except that two of them are also sea monsters.  It’s an interesting concept and is both cute and touching at times.  However (and it pains me to say this as a Pixar aficionado), it’s quite disjointed and misses a great opportunity to dive deep into some relevant issues of our time.

Outside the Italian town of Portorosso lives a family of sea monsters—Daniela (voiced by SNL regular Maya Rudolph), Lorenzo (comedian Jim Gaffigan), Grandma (Sandy Martin), and Luca (Jacob Tremblay).  They’re preparing for an upcoming craft show, so Luca is left to tend to a school of fish that act like sheep.  While doing so, he comes across an alarm clock and other items from above water.  Another monster named Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer) takes then from him, and when Luca follows him, he suddenly finds himself on a beach, transformed into a human being (not unlike Daryl Hannah in the 1980’s film Splash).  It seems this class of sea monsters has the ability to transform into humans if there’s no water on their bodies.

Alberto lives in an old castle turret where he’s kept all of his collected human items, including a poster of a Vespa. Since neither is familiar with the ways of land dwellers, they believe they can create their own Vespa out of the collected items and run away from their past (Luca’s parents are ultra-constricting, which doesn’t make matters any better). They visit Portorosso and nervousness sets in for Luca—will he be outed as a sea monster?

When they actually see a real Vespa, they naturally gravitate to its owner, Ercole (Saverio Raimondo), who promptly dismisses them with insults. Their saving graces are a girl named Giulia (Emma Berman) and an annual competition of swimming, pasta eating, and bike riding that Ercole has won five consecutive years.  Giulia has tried in the past, but pasta and bike riding don’t always pair well—especially when accomplished back to back.  Luca and Alberto offer to help her win, so she invites them over for dinner.  Her father, Massino (Marco Barricelli), has only one hand but loves to go after sea monsters (he also looks a lot like the father in the Pixar short “La Luna” [2011]).  While this plays out, a sweet friendship between Luca and Giulia begins to bloom, leaving Alberto in the cold. Meanwhile, Daniela and Lorenzo enter town, take on human form, and realize that if they get a sea monster wet, they can find their runaway son.

Will Alberto and Luca be discovered as sea monsters?  Will Giulia finally defeat Ercole in the Portorosso Cup?  Will Ercole act like a smarmy, entitled jerk that has created a pseudo-Mafia to make things happen? Will something come of the friendships between the three kids? The answers come in typical Pixar form with a few minor surprises thrown in for good measure.

Although I think Luca is a fine film with a familiar animation style and a fantastic soundtrack, something’s off this time around. The plot is a bit simplistic and bounces from point to point with minimal connections. The Vespa sequences and Daniele and Lorenzo’s parental mission to dump water on every child of Portorosso get old after a while.  However, the biggest issue with Luca involves the wasted opportunities to go deep on subjects such as hiding from one’s dreams, running away from life, the monsters inside each of us, and parental overprotection.  As a result, director Enrico Casarosa’s film feels limited, sort of like the cramped streets of Portorosso itself. An additional five or ten minutes may have made the difference. 

Two things stuck out to me while watching. One: the cat Machiavelli is a scene-stealer. Two: the sheer unlikability of Ercole surprised me. He acts like he runs the town, but nobody ever calls him out for his attitude, sarcastic comments, and brazen lying (he’s too old to compete in the Portorosso Cup yet is still allowed to compete). However, his omnipresence makes any success by the protagonists that much sweeter.

It is important not to discount the emphasis that Luca places on the value of friendships and helping others find their way. Simply put, Luca would’ve never grown had he visited his Uncle Ugo (Sacha Baron Cohen) and disappeared into the black netherworld of deep water. Instead, he had Alberto and Giulia along for the ride.  A proverb states, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17 NIV); this certainly proves to be the case with each transforming the others into something better by the end of the movie. Trying to go through life alone isn’t the answer; letting people come alongside to cry, comfort, and cheer with and for us adds a richness and depth to draw from in challenging times. In many ways, this is what salvages the film for me.

Well, that and a few plates of Massino’s pasta.

Luca is available in theaters and Disney+ as of June 18,2021

Censor: Blurred (and Bloody) Lines between Truth and Fiction

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Taking place during the Thatcher era in Britain, Censor follows Enid (Niamh Algar), a film censor who suffered a traumatic event in her youth with the disappearance of her sister. Having tried to put the events of her childhood behind her, she spends her days pouring over graphic horror films (or ‘video nastys’) in an attempt to keep the youth of this generation safe from becoming tainted by them. However, when a film calls into question whether or not her sister is still alive, Enid embarks on a journey to find out the truth about her whereabouts and discover what really happened back then.

Co-written and directed by Prano Bailey-Bond, Censor is a mind-trip that both horrifies and intrigues. Set in the mid-1980s, the film explores the relationship between reality and fiction by blurring the lines between them. While Censor may not be the most tightly written horror film of late, it may be one of the most creatively constructed. Through her use of set design and lighting, Bailey-Bond ensures that the viewer never separate the real world from the films that Enid consumes each day. In each scene, she visually infects the most innocent of moments with a sense of menace and dread. Red tints bleed into the restaurant as she eats with her parents. Hallways are diseased by shadows and silence as she walks home from work. What’s more, as Enid’s mind becomes compromised, Bailey-Bond edits the scenes to feel increasingly like footage from old 1980s VHS tapes and films. In doing so, Bailey-Bonds drags the viewer into the video nastys themselves, further breaking down the barriers of reality.

During that particular period in British history, the belief that the dark side of culture was being shaped by the violence in these video nastys was prevalent. Tasked with ‘protecting the youth’, the role of the censors was viewed as incredibly important yet the link between violence on screen and reality has never been conclusive. As Enid’s consumption of the nastys reshape her memories, the film begins to suggest the presence of horror films stems from the darkness of the culture itself, as opposed to the other way around. It has been said that horror films mirror the fears and anxieties of our culture and Censor puts that idea on full display. Although it was believed that it was the genre that was creating monsters, the film points to the fact that it actually sheds light on the monsters that already exist. In other words, brutal violence, abuse of women, and more weigh heavily may within this genre but they also present an opportunity to speak to the demons of our culture.

At the same time, the film also calls into the question the fragility of our memories. While the film never explicitly blames her work for Enid’s breakdown, there is little question that it plays a role. For Enid, the role of the censor is essential and she immerses herself in her job. However, when she comes across a video that triggers her memories of her sister, she slowly begins to come apart at the seams. Due to the traumatic nature of the events of her childhood, Enid struggles to put together the pieces of long ago and the violence inherent to these films seem to provide answers to the questions she carries with her. (“You’d be surprised what the human brain can edit out when it can’t handle the truth,” she’s warned.) As a result, Enid almost wants to see reality within the fiction that she consumes. However, on her quest for truth, Enid gradually and increasingly struggles to be able to separate them from one another. While the pain of her story matters, she is unable to fully reconcile the truth of it within her mind.

Visually impressive, Censor should offer the type of gory mystery that horror buffs crave. Bailey-Bond gives the film is a raw feel that seems authentic to the era yet never betrays the story that she wants to tell today. As Enid’s journey devolves into increasing madness, so too does the film itself become more murky along the way, forcing the viewer to decide what is real and what is just ‘nasty’.

Censor is available on VOD on Friday, June 18th, 2021.

Sweat – Alone in the Crowd

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We live in a world of so much connectedness, yet how connected are we to one another? In Magnus von Horn’s Sweat, we see how alone we can be in the midst of masses. We see that celebrity is not the same of a happy, healthy life. We see that what we see of someone on the surface may be far different than who they really are.

Sylwia (Magdalena Koleśnik) is a fitness guru and social media influencer. We first see her as she leads a mass workout in a mall. Afterwards everyone throngs her getting selfies and telling her how much they all love her. She has about 600,000 followers on social media. She posts videos constantly—pictures of her body, opening gift bags from sponsors, walking her dog.

When she meets with her agent, he is concerned about a recent video she posted that went viral. In it she cries because she has no one in her life. The video has made sponsors nervous. They want her to be seen as a happy, successful person—the kind that the world will want to emulate (by buying their products).

That crying video reflects a bit of the reality of her life, but it is a part that she keeps hidden most of the time. Instead, we see the beautiful, ever-smiling, upbeat persona that she has created. That is a person whose vlog is filled with people posting videos talking about how much they mean to her. But that video also brings out a stalker who feels connected to her by her loneliness. When she notices him in his car masturbating outside her apartment building, she feels threatened and disgusted.

Most of the movie deals with Sylwia as she goes through daily life. What we discover is that despite hundreds of thousands of followers, she is a person without a friend. She may be famous. She may be admired. She may be known by many. But she is ultimately alone.

Even when she goes to her mother’s birthday party with family friends, she is not really a part of the group. At one point she heads off to another room to eat her specially catered meal while others enjoy a dinner together. She doesn’t even eat cake, because it does not fit her lifestyle. She has lost all sense of joy and celebration, swallowed up by the persona that the world sees.

In press notes, the director says he is intrigued by what he calls “emotional exhibitionists”—those who can bare their feelings to the world. Sylwia is trying to balance her emotional life between such sharing, and maintaining the persona she has created. When she appears on a morning TV show, we watch as she alternates between those two aspects. She defends her emotional outpouring, because she knows that loneliness is a reality for many peoples. But then she moves to a workout and turns the switch from real Sylwia and public Sylwia.

Sweat allows us to consider our own senses of being connected or disconnected—especially in the age of social media. Does the number of “friends” we have on Facebook reflect our closeness to people, or are we deluding ourselves to think that we care for and are cared for by those people?

Ecclesiastes speaks of the need to be connected to other people. The church is designed to be a connection between people and God, but also one person to another. That is one of the key meanings of sharing in the Lord’s Supper. I think that is why I see the scene of Sylwia eating a different meal in a different room struck me as one of the key scenes. It is coming to a table together that helps us understand ourselves and the world.

Sweat is playing in select theaters.

Photos courtesy of Mubi.

Reflection: A Walk with Water

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 “There it is. Take it.” (William Mulholland, opening the gates to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, 1913)

Water is a big deal here in California. It is not just about the presence or lack of rain (although that is important). For over 100 years, huge amounts of water have been diverted from the Central Valley and the Colorado River to provide water for Los Angeles and surrounding areas. In Reflection: A Walk with Water, filmmaker Emmett Brown joins with a group to walk the entire length of the Aqueduct from what is now the dry Owens Lakebed to the Cascades coming down the mountains into the city. Along the way he and others consider what this rerouting of so much water has cost the land. The film is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The film begins with a walk on what used to be Owens Lake (and is now the largest single source of dust pollution in the US). In many ways this redirection of water to a population center has had enormous environmental consequences (which are adding to and exacerbated by global climate change). But Brown says he wants to focus on signs of hope—ideas that may serve to mitigate the damage done. We see plans to “slow down water”, i.e., keep it from running to the sea as quickly as possible. We also learn about helping the soil better use the water that is available. There are other aspects of change he highlights as well.

This is a film that will appeal to environmentally minded people. It brings in issues of the way we have pillaged nature, ideas for doing things better, reflects on the treatment of indigenous peoples, and challenges viewers to see possibilities for change. But in the end, this is really a sermon for the choir. Nearly everyone who will opt to watch this movie will probably already be in harmony with its concepts and vision. It will reinforce existing ideas, but I doubt it will make any converts.

While I like the ideas of change, the problem with the examples we have is that they are all small-scale operations. Even if replicated many times as the film suggests, they would only represent a drop of water in the 200 mile long aqueduct. They are nice to consider, but compared to the massive undertaking that resulted in the LA Aqueduct, these are miniscule.

The film also ignores the elephant in the room of water in California—politics. Water is not just a matter of environmental importance in California; it is the basis of ongoing fights between cities and rural farming. California water policy is battled over every few years—especially in increasingly frequent drought years.

Reflection: A Walk with Water serves to bring some of these environmental issues to our attention. It offers ideas that some may want to incorporate into their own lives. It offers us an opportunity to reflect on some of the spiritual aspects of the ecology (mostly from a Native American spirituality). It is a small voice speaking to a very large issue.

Queen of Spades: A Call to Parents

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We’ve probably all played the game as kids (or, at least, talked about it.)

Whether its at a slumber party or just hanging out with friends, the topic of unleashing the paranormal seems to be a common part of the teen experience. After all, how many of us sat down and tried to terrify one another with stories designed to make us scared to be alone in the next room? Furthermore, from ouija boards to enacting urban legends, how many of us have ever tried to step our toes into the paranormal ourselves?

Queen of Spades follows Anna (Ava Preston), a young pre-teen who’s been hanging out more with older youth since her mom is always at work. One night, the group discuss the legend of the Queen of Spades, an ominous entity that can be summoned by reciting her name while staring into a mirror. Although the experience begins as a joke, the teens become increasingly terrified when members of their group begin to die. Soon, they discover that they have unleashed a horrifying evil and must work together to stop her before she claims all of their souls for herself.

Directed by Patrick White, Queen of Spades is an absolutely fun (but predictable) ride into the world of paranormal activity. Although the tale is based on the well-known ‘Bloody Mary’ folklore, White tries to breathe new life into the idea by focusing on the story’s Russian equivalent. In doing so, he adds a unique spin on the material which helps it seem more original. However, what White is best at is his use of his set design. By emphasizing the numerous reflective surfaces within each room, he creates an ominous sense of dread that pervades the house. (It says something when one can make even the tea kettle seem like a potential threat.) 

In addition, despite some fairly good performances from its youth, the true highlights of the film come from its adults and, more specifically, veterans Kaelen Ohm and Daniel Kash. As Anna’s mother Mary, Ohm is fully believable as the burnt out mother. Despite the nature of the paranormal activity around her, Ohm never really over-indulges her work and even provides the youth with some grounding to their own performances. However, the real story of the film is Kash, who’s clearly having the most fun as the paranoid and broken Smirnov. Though he’s rarely onscreen throughout the first half of the film, Kash steals every scene that he’s in as the fumbling and fearful paranormal expert.

The biggest issue with Spades is simply that this is a story structure that we’ve seen many times before. Even though White does his best to keep things feeling fresh, the film checks off a number of narrative boxes which hold the film back from ever becoming something new. (For example, kids play game that contacts paranormal and start dying one by one as few (if any) adults believe them.) Through no real fault of its own, the premise of the film simply plays itself out as standard horror fare, even if the execution is quite good.

What does set Spades apart though is it emphasis on the relationship between parent and child. While one might expect that the stories of the teens might drive the narrative, it’s the bond between Mary and Anna that becomes the film’s central focus. Though she loves her daughter, single mother Mary is always away at work and her absence has left a hole in their relationship. Without her mother around, Anna is spending more time with kids who are much older than her who push her to act their age. (In fact, its teenage Katy who calls out Mary more than once for leaving her daughter alone and blaming her for the entire situation.) 

In many ways, the film uses its monster to symbolize the irresponsibility of parents who neglect or abuse children. For instance, though she was originally tasked with caring for kids, the Queen of Spades abused that power and become a serial killer. Although the Queen’s legend may be extreme, she serves as an example of the damage that can take place when adults misuse the responsibility of caring for children. (What’s more, in a complete coincidence, the Queen’s nightmarish behaviour also echoes the trauma of the bodies of the First Nations children that were discovered only a few weeks ago.) As a result, when it is held up against the relationship of Mary and Anna, the film serves as a call for parents to place greater value on their kids and help preserve their innocence.

Despite it’s predictable structure, there’s a lot of fun to be had in Queen of Spades. Whereas White may lean into the tropes that we’re all familiar with, his use of set design and special effects help give the film enough entertainment value to scare up some of your time.

Just be sure to cover up the mirrors after you do.

To see our interview with director Patrick White, click here.

Queen of Spades is available in theatres and on VOD on Tuesday, June 15th, 2021.

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard: Reynolds, Hayek and Jackson comedy goes Fast & Furious

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The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard brings back beloved (and unlicensed) bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds), who is having an identity crisis of sorts. While taking a sabbatical from work, Bryce is thrown back into action when Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek) drops back into his life and demands his help in rescuing her kidnapped husband, hitman Darius (Samuel L. Jackson). After freeing him from his abductors, the three are recruited by the FBI to prevent madman Aristotle Papadopolous (Antonio Banderas) from bringing his maniacal plans to reality. Though they can hardly stand the sight of one another, the three must set aside their differences in order to save Europe from total chaos. 

Wild and unruly, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is a fun but flawed ride that earns its credibility through sheer star power. Back behind the director’s chair is Patrick Hughes who kicks things up a notch from the last entry. Whereas the first film kept things (relatively) straightforward with its plot, the sequel goes for more… everything. More comedic banter. More gunfire and blood. Higher stakes and stunts. (In fact, the story has leaned into its own wildness so much that it borders on the type of mayhem that have made the Fast and Furious films a global success.)

However, while Wife’s Bodyguard may be over-the-top with its story and characters, it still remains a fun ride. Despite its madness, Hughes understands that the true building block of the film remains its leads and they receive the attention that they deserve. Even though Jackson and Reynolds have great comedic banter together, the most welcome piece is Hayek, whose role is increased significantly (as the title suggests). Though she has mixed up her acting choices throughout her career, Hayek’s comedic talents have always been her greatest strength and she bounds around onscreen with an energetic silliness.

Although the leads receive significant screen time, it’s worth noting though that the supporting characters feel like they’re given little to do. While Freeman’s role is more of a cameo, one would expect that Banderas would have more time to establish himself in a villainous role but his scenes feel minimal. (Having said this, it is fun to see him working again with Hayek. Desperado reunion!) However, one could argue that the actor who suffers most in the film is the stellar Frank Grillo. As FBI Agent O’Neill, Grillo’s character is set up with a significant introduction and then almost criminally underused within the film, despite his seeming importance to the script.

At its heart, Wife’s Bodyguard emphasizes the importance and impact of our parents. Here, all the characters are either feeling the damage left by their families or looking to begin one of their own. For example, the film highlights the pressure that Michael feels to live up to his father’s legacy. As one of the world’s best bodyguards, Michael’s step-father is respected by all. Although he loves his father, Michael constantly views himself as a comparative failure, especially without his AAA license. At the same time, as Sonia and Darius try to set out on their honeymoon, she yearns to be a mother. While the two try desperately to have children of their own, they have yet to be successful and Sonia is growing increasingly frustrated with the delays.

While the two stories seem to differ, the film holds them up against one another in such a way as to highlight what it means to choose your own family. Though the characters may not be related, Darius, Sonia and Michael continue to establish a bond of support for one another that draws them together. In a strange way, this creates a newly supportive (but dysfunctional) environment that becomes a family that we choose ourselves. (Again, this theme seems to echo the heart of the Fast and the Furious films…) By taking biology out of the equation, Hitman’s Bodyguard emphasizes the importance of our relationships and having people around us that have our backs.

To Wife’s Bodyguard, that is the nature of family.

With heightened stakes and antics, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard should entertain fans of the first film and its leads. Despite the film’s flaws, Reynolds, Jackson and Hayek have a zaniness about them that always makes them interesting to watch, even in moments when this Hitman misses the mark.

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is available in theatres on Wednesday, June 16, 2021.

7.21 Into the Fire of THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD

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When the heat of the flames tries to overtake you, what will you do? In THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD, Angelina Jolie plays Hannah, a burnt-out flame jumper who is struggling to deal with the traumatic events of her past. When she meets young Connor, she finds herself forced into the fire again as she attempts to help him get to safety. This week, Victor Stiff (That Shelf, Dope Black Movies) and filmmaker Ryan Kayet (Riverlife Productions) drop by to talk about Taylor Sheridan’s unique style and what it means to find beauty in the fire.

You can stream the episode on podomatic, Alexa (via Stitcher), Spotify or Amazon Podcasts! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts!

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

7.21 Those Who Wish Me DeadDownload

Accepted – What Will Get You Into College?

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A small college prep school in rural Louisiana boasts that 100% of graduates are accepted into college, including 32% into Ivy League schools. An impressive record. It gained national media attention due to viral videos of students learning of their acceptances. That got the attention of documentarian Dan Chen, whose film Accepted is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The T.M. Landry College Prep is certainly an unusual school. It is located in a warehouse. There aren’t traditional class rooms or schedules. The average family income for the students is $32,000. The students are challenged by Tom Landry, the founder of the school, to focus on doing all they have to do to get into a prestigious school. Some of the students we meet spend up to 12 hours a day studying.

Chen, after the school became known nationally, chose to follow some students of the class of 2019 through their senior year. Each is hoping to do well in tests and find their way to a future they never really imagined. They are dedicated students. They have learned to work hard. Landry is very motivational, but he also creates a great deal of pressure these students must deal with. Is that what will serve them well in college?

But then during the year, the New York Times publishes a story about how the school has falsified transcripts—listing classes students didn’t take and activities they were never a part of. The story also makes mention of abuse by Landry. (We see an example of his temper that could easily be called emotional abuse.) As Landry fights for his school’s reputation, the students must decide what they will do in response to these allegations. What will happen to their dreams—their futures?

At issue isn’t just whether the students are really prepared for life at such schools. We see that they clearly have skills that will serve them well. It is also the system of college admissions. Landry has learned how to game that system to the benefit of these students from disadvantaged backgrounds, but who may well be deserving of schools’ consideration. This is compared briefly with the “Varsity Blues” college admission scandal that included several celebrities who paid large sums to get their already advantaged (but not academically skilled) children into some of these same schools.

The film evoked a certain cynicism in me. Not so much about these students, but about the overall college admission system that has become so competitive that it has engendered schemes to cheat in various ways. We like to think that the educations system is a meritocracy, but we know that it never has been. This film exposes the systemic shortcomings in a new way.

New Order: Reversal of Fortunes

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Directed by Michel Franco, New Order follows Marianne (Naian Gonzalez Norvind), a young bride who is celebrating with her husband during her lavish upper-class wedding. However, when an unexpected class war bursts forth outside their walls, Marianne is taken hostage and her wedding erupts into violence and chaos. As her family works tirelessly to bring her home, the city’s political system collapses and gives rise to a much more terrifying regime.

New Order is an intense and visceral ride that operates as a word of warning to the wealthy (sort of). With brutal torture scenes and truly monstrous villains, Franco does not shy away from scenes designed to make the viewer feel uncomfortable and even horrify at times. Led by a strong performance by young Norvind, Order remains unafraid to step into the darkness of a nation that is torn apart by social division and inequality.  

What is most surprising about New Order though is its lack of nuance. Whereas films like Parasite have attempted to create a sense of balance in their portrayal of the rich and poor, Order has none of these shades of grey. In this world, the military and poor are vicious beasts intent on punishing the wealthy with little (if any) backstory provided to the viewer. By telling the story through the eyes of young bride Marianne, the film highlights the innocence of the upper class who live in ignorance of the outside world. As such, Order becomes less about examining the effects of political or financial oppression on the underclasses. Instead, the film focuses on the wealthy as victims and never truly explains what cultural circumstances created this conflict. One way that the film highlights this is that, throughout much of the film, the faces of the military remain largely hidden from view. In doing so, Franco keeps them from being sympathetic to the viewer, similar to the Stormtroopers of Star Wars films.

In this way, the film becomes somewhat of a missed opportunity. While kidnapped victims are treated similarly to the cruelty often received by the poorest of prisoners, including punishments ranging from being sprayed by a firehose to sexual abuse, the potential conversations surrounding these traumas are largely ignored. In other words, rather than explore the initial effects that these sorts of abuse had on the lower classes and potentially led to the revolt, Order simply focuses on demonizing them. (For example, as ransoms are paid, victims who are supposed to be set free are murdered regardless.)

As a result, New Order also come across as somewhat of hopeless endeavour. In many ways, this is not a film that offers solutions but fear. In Order, justice is carried out with violence and retribution as opposed to any form of nuanced conversation and compromise. While that works in the context of the film, it is also feels tone deaf to the current conversations taking place in our world, especially as it comes to issues of poverty.

In the end, New Order will provide an enjoyable (but likely disturbing) experience for those who are looking for an evening of intense entertainment. Admittedly, however, there’s something about Order that leaves the viewer wanting. While the film shows that Franco knows how to create a story that grabs the viewer, so too does it also lose the sort of conversation that could truly make Order memorable.

New Order is available on VOD on Friday, June 11th, 2021.