For me, as an avid film person, for a lot of years, I never thought I would have gotten to where I am today within the world of being a ‘critic.’ A few weeks back, I covered the Nashville Film Festival. It was amazing, but today and over the next week, I am tackling one of the biggest festivals of the year, AFI Fest.
So I hope you enjoy this ride along with me as I cover films that range from Short Films to Documentaries to New Auteurs to World Cinema and so much more.
The story of Inés, a young woman who after a traumatic episode during a trip with her partner begins to confuse herself between the real and the imaginary.
Our film begins with our introduction to Inés (Erica Rivas) and her world. We see the ins and outs of the voiceover work that she does and the relationship with this man that seems to want more than she wants.
On this vacation, we see their relationship unravel in front of our eyes as Inés has a dream she fantasizes about someone other than him. We see this leads to an insane moment (not spoiling) that results in us understanding why Ines begins to turn in.
Although everything seems familiar on the surface, we begin to see Inés have trouble understanding reality vs. imaginary. Director Natalia Meta does a great job of us, the viewer questioning the same thing, enhancing the experience.
More on Natalia Meta, her camera work within this was top notch. The angles, positioning, and the ability to show us just what we needed to until we needed to see more was beautiful. She has this strong artistic approach to film that makes you invest in just more than the dialogue.
Finally, the film’s conclusion is a wide-open one at that, and sometimes this doesn’t work for movies, but it worked for me here. Meta leaves the idea of what is going on to the interpretation of us, the viewer.
The Verdict:
Natalia Meta’s ‘The Intruder’ is the perfect blend of creepy and unique, which challenges you to figure out what’s real and what’s not.
Jacob is a film critic and co-founder of the Music City Drive-In. He is a member of the Music City Film Critics’ Association and specializes in the awards season. You can find him on Twitter @Tberry57.
