Acapulco, Mexico: Neil (Tim Roth), his sister Alice (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and her children are on an exceptionally luxurious vacation. Then they get a call that changes everything and forces them to abruptly leave paradise. Alice immediately reacts to the family emergency, packs all her things and books the next flight to England. Neil goes silent and stays behind at the airport in the last minute – he lost his passport. What follows is a silent tour de force in which not just the family, but primarily Alice asks: what is Neil doing alone in Mexico, when all social conventions would demand him to immediately return to England? In high-contrast, partially surreal images, Neil is overtaken by his family‘s secrets – and an unstoppable downward spiral unfolds. Michel Franco strikes a quieter tone here than he did in his previous film about violence and class warfare NEW ORDER. From the start, something seems to loom in the air besides the shimmering heat. The breath-taking images of Mexico are incredible, and death – or its violent foreboding – is omnipresent: served oysters that move after being squirted with lime, freshly caught fish that flitters in the sunlight for one last time, and Neil, who similarly seems to flinch, rebelling in his way against what life wants to impose on him. Slowly, the image of Niel‘s inner conflicts is rounded out without using a lot of words, but primarily through his encounter with Mexican kiosk clerk Berenice (an impressive Iazua Larios). Right up until the day, the big questions about having a fulfilled life, grief, and dealing with death are left unanswered. Which of the characters really do have a place in the sun is the actual mystery.

Anna Hantelmann (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy