{"id":89886,"date":"2016-08-06T13:21:09","date_gmt":"2016-08-06T12:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=89886"},"modified":"2016-08-06T13:25:02","modified_gmt":"2016-08-06T12:25:02","slug":"we-are-the-flesh-film-review-fantasia-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/reviews\/we-are-the-flesh-film-review-fantasia-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"We Are The Flesh film review – Fantasia 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s always impressive when a film manages to truly immerse the viewer in the world it\u2019s presenting. In the case of We Are The Flesh<\/em><\/strong>, which played at Fantasia Film Festival, it\u2019s not necessarily a pleasant experience, but good lord, it is powerful. First time filmmaker Emiliano Rocha Minter has crafted a film that is truly nightmarish but utterly hypnotic; a grubby, grimy and potent vision of a hell that might be closer than you might think.<\/p>\n

In a post-apocalyptic Mexico, a lone scavenger (No\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez) has made a home for himself in a cardboard-lined ruin, but his routine is interrupted by the arrival of a young brother and sister (Diego Gamaliel and Mar\u00eda Evoli). He gladly takes these teenagers in, but he\u2019s not interested in protecting them.<\/p>\n

What begins is a gruelling journey towards perversion and madness, as the man starts bullying his new guests moving into sleeping with each other, a prospect which at least one of them apparently does not find that unappealing. The provocation isn\u2019t merely suggestive, it\u2019s backed up by graphic depictions of incest, cannibalism and rape that consciously recall the work of Gaspar Noe (Irreversible<\/em><\/strong>, Enter The Void<\/em><\/strong>).<\/p>\n

But while the confrontational nature of the seediness packs real shock value, what really impresses is Minter\u2019s skill as a filmmaker. With his cinematographer Yoll\u00f3tl Alvarado and art director Manuela Garc\u00eda, he creates a setting that is claustrophobic and womb-like, a primal furnace where there is no moral judgement, no possibility of intervention and, eventually, no rules about life and death.<\/p>\n

These increasingly unbound characters wander this sweaty otherworld, committing ever-more transgressive and unspeakable deeds with ferocious energy and, in the case of the man, something approaching rapture.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a sharp political element which becomes ever more important as the film progresses and new arrivals somehow find their way into this world. We don\u2019t want to spoil anything, but there\u2019s a commentary that\u2019s as fierce as the impact of some of the images that Minter confronts you with. The performances are excellent, with the late Hern\u00e1ndez in particular standing out with a truly unforgettable turn.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so clearly not for everyone that it seems redundant to point that out, but this is a hugely impressive blend of provocation and cinematic skill. You may not enjoy your time with We Are The Flesh<\/em><\/strong>, but you will not be able to look away, and you will not be able to forget it. And you might need a shower afterwards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hell is a place on Earth in the deeply grubby and powerful We Are The Flesh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":89887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"MSN_Categories":"Uncategorized","MSN_Publish_Option":false,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":""},"categories":[2615,8],"tags":[797,5275],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/001.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89886"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}