EL MOVIMIENTO World Cinema

A stark black-and-white vision of anarchy, Benjamín Naishtat’s EL MOVIMIENTO follows various groups of armed men who drift aimlessly across a war-scarred landscape. They claim to be working for “The Movement.” This vague, Kafkaesque stance allows the gangs to take what they want and kill anyone who stands in their way. But power corrupts, and a leaderless thirst for revolution among the men begins to dismantle the operation from the inside. EL MOVIMIENTO is fueled by a terrifyingly charismatic lead performance from Pablo Cedrón as Señor, an educated man who seeks peace through blood. With a deft hand, Naishtat expertly employs cinematic grammar to tell this tale of blood, sand, power and dust. –Lane Kneedler