The Family (2017)
★½ — The Family (2017)
Gustavo Rondón Córdova's debut feature arrived as Venezuela was sliding into the acute political and economic crisis that would dominate international headlines through the late 2010s, lending the film an uncomfortable documentary weight even as it operates as fiction. Shot on location in the working-class barrios of Caracas, it is a co-production between Venezuelan, Chilean, and Norwegian partners, the kind of modest international assembly that often keeps Latin American arthouse cinema viable when domestic funding is scarce or unstable. Rondón Córdova had worked previously in short film and had no major prior features, making this an assured first outing that earned significant festival attention, including prizes at San Sebastián. The cast is largely non-professional, which suits the film's close, unshowy approach to its central father-son relationship.
A-Z World Movie Tour Slovakia Family by Rok Bicek is an ambitious project. It was shot over ten years in a cinéma vérité style, following Matej, a young man with additional needs, and his family living on the margins of Slovakian society. The film opens with what appears to be a real birth (yes, really), and from there, it plunges into an unfiltered, raw look at daily life in a household where most members live with physical and cognitive challenges. There’s no script, no actors, no traditional structure, just life as it unfolds, messy and unvarnished. And that’s both its strength and its biggest problem. The realism is undeniably powerful at times. There’s honesty in the way it shows care, dependency, and quiet resilience. But the lack of narrative shape, combined with the improvisational, “anything goes” pacing, makes it feel aimless and exhausting. Scenes drag on without development, dialogue loops, and the camera lingers in a way that sometimes feels more voyeuristic than empathetic. It’s like watching home videos with no breaks, no music, no relief. Worst of all, it’s emotionally draining without offering much insight. The outlook is relentlessly bleak, and while that may reflect reality for some, the film never lifts its gaze to show connection, joy, or dignity, just struggle. After a while, it starts to feel less like a documentary and more like endurance test. Courageous in intent, but too slow, too unstructured, and too grim to truly connect.
Rating: ★½ | Year: 2017 | Watched: 2025-09-04
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