Wed May 7, 2014
History of Fear, Benjamín Naishtat (Argentina/France/Germany/ Qatar/Uruguay, 2014)
SEE EVENT DETAILS
at Pacific Film Archive (PFA) Theater
(see times)
San Francisco International Film Festival @ BAM/PFA
In an anonymous fast-food restaurant, a disturbed young man contorts his body and paralyzes onlookers as if they were hostages held at gunpoint. At a tollbooth, a naked stranger steps in front of a car and its occupants react like he is a suicide bomber. A fence surrounding an affluent Buenos Aires suburb is breached and the residents are certain that some threat will slip through the gap. In fact, paranoia grips every member of the ensemble in Benjamín Naishtat’s thriller, instilling a disorienting sense of dread and enticing the viewer to join in the characters’ hysteria. As History of Fear unfolds on multiple fronts, there are echoes of Neighboring Sounds, the 2012 SFIFF standout from Brazil. Employing a disquieting sound design to great effect, Naishtat displays an aptitude for strangleholds that would earn a stern nod of approval from Michael Haneke. His film may be sprawling in both scope and implications but it’s astonishingly exacting in its execution. As Naishtat’s pawns close ranks for the climax, this young director’s control of technique and tone leaves one in a state similar to those aforementioned fast-food customers: waiting on tenterhooks for him to make his next move.
—Curtis Woloschuk
• Written by Naishtat. Photographed by Soledad Rodríguez. With Jonathan Da Rosa, Tatiana Giménez, Mirella Pascual, Claudia Cantero. (79 mins)
show less
In an anonymous fast-food restaurant, a disturbed young man contorts his body and paralyzes onlookers as if they were hostages held at gunpoint. At a tollbooth, a naked stranger steps in front of a car and its occupants react like he is a suicide bomber. A fence surrounding an affluent Buenos Aires suburb is breached and the residents are certain that some threat will slip through the gap. In fact, paranoia grips every member of the ensemble in Benjamín Naishtat’s thriller, instilling a disorienting sense of dread and enticing the viewer to join in the characters’ hysteria. As History of Fear unfolds on multiple fronts, there are echoes of Neighboring Sounds, the 2012 SFIFF standout from Brazil. Employing a disquieting sound design to great effect, Naishtat displays an aptitude for strangleholds that would earn a stern nod of approval from Michael Haneke. His film may be sprawling in both scope and implications but it’s astonishingly exacting in its execution. As Naishtat’s pawns close ranks for the climax, this young director’s control of technique and tone leaves one in a state similar to those aforementioned fast-food customers: waiting on tenterhooks for him to make his next move.
—Curtis Woloschuk
• Written by Naishtat. Photographed by Soledad Rodríguez. With Jonathan Da Rosa, Tatiana Giménez, Mirella Pascual, Claudia Cantero. (79 mins)
San Francisco International Film Festival @ BAM/PFA
In an anonymous fast-food restaurant, a disturbed young man contorts his body and paralyzes onlookers as if they were hostages held at gunpoint. At a tollbooth, a naked stranger steps in front of a car and its occupants react like he is a suicide bomber. A fence surrounding an affluent Buenos Aires suburb is breached and the residents are certain that some threat will slip through the gap. In fact, paranoia grips every member of the ensemble in Benjamín Naishtat’s thriller, instilling a disorienting sense of dread and enticing the viewer to join in the characters’ hysteria. As History of Fear unfolds on multiple fronts, there are echoes of Neighboring Sounds, the 2012 SFIFF standout from Brazil. Employing a disquieting sound design to great effect, Naishtat displays an aptitude for strangleholds that would earn a stern nod of approval from Michael Haneke. His film may be sprawling in both scope and implications but it’s astonishingly exacting in its execution. As Naishtat’s pawns close ranks for the climax, this young director’s control of technique and tone leaves one in a state similar to those aforementioned fast-food customers: waiting on tenterhooks for him to make his next move.
—Curtis Woloschuk
• Written by Naishtat. Photographed by Soledad Rodríguez. With Jonathan Da Rosa, Tatiana Giménez, Mirella Pascual, Claudia Cantero. (79 mins)
read more
In an anonymous fast-food restaurant, a disturbed young man contorts his body and paralyzes onlookers as if they were hostages held at gunpoint. At a tollbooth, a naked stranger steps in front of a car and its occupants react like he is a suicide bomber. A fence surrounding an affluent Buenos Aires suburb is breached and the residents are certain that some threat will slip through the gap. In fact, paranoia grips every member of the ensemble in Benjamín Naishtat’s thriller, instilling a disorienting sense of dread and enticing the viewer to join in the characters’ hysteria. As History of Fear unfolds on multiple fronts, there are echoes of Neighboring Sounds, the 2012 SFIFF standout from Brazil. Employing a disquieting sound design to great effect, Naishtat displays an aptitude for strangleholds that would earn a stern nod of approval from Michael Haneke. His film may be sprawling in both scope and implications but it’s astonishingly exacting in its execution. As Naishtat’s pawns close ranks for the climax, this young director’s control of technique and tone leaves one in a state similar to those aforementioned fast-food customers: waiting on tenterhooks for him to make his next move.
—Curtis Woloschuk
• Written by Naishtat. Photographed by Soledad Rodríguez. With Jonathan Da Rosa, Tatiana Giménez, Mirella Pascual, Claudia Cantero. (79 mins)
show less
Date/Times:
Pacific Film Archive (PFA) Theater
2575 Bancroft Way , Berkeley, CA 94720
The Best Events
Every Week in Your Inbox
From Our Sponsors
UPCOMING EVENTS
Great suggestion! We'll be in touch.
Event reviewed successfully.