3 out of 5

Director: Nacho Cerdà

Its totally wrong to go into a movie with expectations. And I did it. But I think they were the right expectations. Nacho Cerdas first fictional full-length, The Abandoned, carries the same feeling as the short films which made him a director-to-watch. It is visually solid, with an understanding from start to finish of whats being done. But what was tolerable, and fitting, during the shorts, doesnt work with a 90 minute narrative – the sense of remove between film and action. You are very obviously watching a movie the whole time and thus its hard to get wrapped up in the action. So a little bit about the plot: we get a voiceover at the start that seems to be warning us about exploring our past. Then a flashback to some abandoned children. Then the present, where our main character, Anastasia Hille, is traveling to Russia to claim some land shes inherited and perhaps find out about her parents, who are unknown to her. As she travels out to the isolated farmhouse which is now hers, the warning from the start comes into play and it seems that Anastasia cannot escape the unknown horrors from her past… Look: Abandoned is gorgeous. There are a couple pacing issues, and some odd dialogue choices (which you can always chalk up to the different languages involved in the making of the movie – Spanish director, Russian crew, etc. – but its beautiful, almost entirely, from start to finish. Even the gore has the same well-tuned sense to it was in Cerdas shorts. And the leads are perfectly cast, but in terms of ethnicity and age. It was wonderful seeing age appropriate leads. But, despite this, that sense of remove hampers the whole thing – Cerda has an agenda and you feel it guiding the movie beyond its plot. Hopefully, going forward, Cerda can marry his visual and conceptual poetry to a truly thrilling film-going experience.