WE ARE WHAT WE ARE (2010) movie review

We Are What We Are (2010) d. Grau, Jorge Michel (Mexico)

Intriguing ideas-a-go-go but with more questions raised than answers in this kitchen sink drama surrounding an urban family of cannibals whose lives are thrown into turmoil when their patriarch keels over in the opening scenes, leaving them without a bread-winner (or fresh meat-procurer). All of the characters are interesting unto themselves and the relationships provide chewy material, but it’s both too much and too little for the central story.

For example, much is made of a “ritual” that must be performed, yet we never learn enough about the specifics of said tradition – either its purpose or practice – to make the time spent yammering about it ultimately worth our while. Similarly, there is a subplot regarding one of our main characters’ sexual leanings that never really pays off. There are some praiseworthy shock moments where the foley artists were clearly earning their crunching and squishing wages, but I find I’m looking forward to Jim Mickle’s upcoming English language remake more than I would have originally thought. This is one of those times where the concept is more interesting than the final result; be nice to give someone else another shot at it (especially if that someone is the man behind Mulberry St. and Stake Land.)