A spectacular family home is the scene for the wedding of Marianne. Outside of these walls, however, riots are raging in the streets. When an old employee arrives asking for money to get his wife urgent medical help, Marianne leaves with one of the employees and gets caught up in the riot, split from her family.
New Order is possibly the most shocking film I’ve seen this year. I lamented a mere two hours earlier when underwhelmed by a ‘shocking’ film that maybe films just can’t have that same reaction when at home. Well, New Order proved me wrong and quickly. From the very start of the film, you can feel a tension brewing. It’s hard to quite put your finger on what, where, why, but you can feel it.
The film completely flips itself on its head around the 30-minute mark. I know this because I checked the runtime and could not believe it was only 33 minutes into the film – I felt I had already covered an entire spectrum of emotion.
The film is impossible to predict and moved in so many different directions, it could easily lose its way, but director & screenwriter Michel Franco holds it all together with commanding authority. Whilst we are given small pockets of space to recollect ourselves, they are short-lived with more powerful and violent moments just around the corner. I lost count of the number of times I jumped, gasped or held my face.
The film feels long, but only because it packs so much into a short space of time. In fact, it could have been very easy to centre the entire film on just the opening 30 minutes. The film is crafted with fine precision and brilliant performances from all, not least from Naian Gonzalez Norvind as Marianne who stuns in her role.
New Order is expertly executed and will definitely divide audiences, but I could not look away.
Ex film teacher and frequent couch potato. I try and see at least one new release a week, but I’ve somehow got to 30 without having seen The Godfather?
