MSFF MOVIE REVIEW: TO KILL A MAN (MATAR A UN HOMBRE)




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Jorge lives a quiet with his wife, son and daughter. A chance encounter with the wrong crowd and a dispute at night sends a street thug to jail. Two years later Jorge starts receiving disturbing phone calls. The man he accused has returned seeks revenge on him and his family. The abuse is getting worse and in the end it seems that Jorge has only one choice left.

TO KILL A MAN is a little story about a little man who is quietly making a decision to take another man's life. The plot might have been done to death (pardon the pun), but it is meticulous proportion and structure that make TO KILL A MAN to stand out. Camera work puts you into Jorge's mind with static shots, calculated and measured, just like the insulin shots Jorge gives himself - a part of his daily routine.

The film never spirals into a nailbiting thriller, but everything happening on screen feels real and raw, and therefore fascinating.
TO KILL A MAN is full of interesting little ideas and holds quirky visual secrets to discover for a patient viewer. The camera often keeps on shooting the static scene, even when the characters has already abandoned it. You can almost feel their energy still there, conflict unresolved, hanging in the air. TO KILL A MAN may not have much to offer in a plot department, but it has been cinematically told in a fresh and unpredictable way.

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