New Order

As "New Order" (2020 release from Mexico; 86 min.) opens, there is upheaval in a hospital, as lot of wounded and dead are brought in, resulting from social protests in the streets. In a parallel story, an upper class family is getting ready for a wedding, and the guests are arriving, but the judge who will officiate the wedding is late due to the protests. Things are becoming increasingly chaotic... At this point we are 10 min. Into the film but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest film from Mexican writer-director Michel Franco ("After Lucia"). Here he brings a "what if" social and political tale, set in Mexico City: what if social unrest leads to a violent military coup? The film observes the chaos of it all, and also what it means for the class inequities. Beware: there are a number of very disturbing scenes including torture, rape and execution-style murders. Yet the film also is incredibly well paced and it all flies by in no time. When the end titles started rolling, I thought to myself, "holy crap, what did I just watch?".

The movie premiered at the 2020 Venice Film Festival, where it won one of the top prizes, and it wasn't long before NEON snapped up the US distribution rights. Then COVID-10 changed the world... The film finally was released this weekend, and my art-house theater here Cincinnati had it on it schedule. The Sunday early evening show where I saw this at turned out to be a private screening: I was literally the only person in the theater. (Please note that upon its release in Mexico, this film was rebuked critically by many for being "classist and racist". I must admit it never crossed my mind while watching this.) If you are in the mood for a disturbing social and political "what if" from Mexico, I'd suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (while you still can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.