Rating: 3/5
A woman collapses on the road in front of an 18-wheeler
Francisca lives on a farm with her parents, cut off from the outside world. Her mother, a surgeon, demonstrates dissection for her, and her father, reticent and cold, let everything happen
One day, she sees her mother killed in front of her and helps her father chain the killer up in their barn, where she tends to him as a pet
We jump to Francisca as an adult when the consequences of her unusual upbringing manifest
The movie is shot in a rich, silver-tone black and white, giving every scene a sort of uncanny beauty. In addition, the film refrains from showing the more grotesque moments, letting the implications live before and after the cut
These distancing devices both help to give the movie a distinct tone, but they also ensure that we never feel too close to what is happening in front of us
The movie doesn’t stop escalating, cutting through time for vignettes of disturbing behavior and violence. In some ways, this allows the audience to fill in the gaps themselves. However, the structure also feels like a way to avoid the messy details of the story
An upsetting and messed up film if you need any more of those