Saturday, March 9, 2024

MALTA (2024) SXSW 2024


Young woman dreams of leaving her boring life and heading off to far off places, like Malta.

I’m going to be brief, not because I dislike the film, but rather I really like MALTA even if I don’t have much to say about it.

This is a character study about a woman going through her life and trying to find her way in the world. There are no big set pieces just a life as lived as Mariana falls into a relationship and begins to try and work out why she wants to get the hell out of Dodge so badly. It’s a film that has semi-expected arc, but which rises above that and truly shines thanks to  a script and performances that lift the film up to something special. Because the cast headed by Estefanía Piñeres is so good we are interacting with people and not characters.  We are watching life and we are better for it.

You really don’t need anything else. This is a film of small, but potent pleasures and I don’t want to do the film a disservice by over selling them. Instead I would rather just have you buy a ticket and take a ride.

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