Everybody Knows (Todos lo saben) (2018)

Everybody Knows is Asghar Farhadi's Spanish-language debut. What made him decide to make this movie in Spanish, I don't know, as it isn't really a uniquely Spanish movie. It's a kidnapping drama about secrets in a small town. As the title suggests, everybody knows, everybody but the audience. But even the audience can deduce the secret constantly hinted at. I think the real twist is that knowing the secret doesn't solve the mystery. It doesn't answer who the kidnapper is. It sort of makes that central mystery inconsequential. And that's why though we get an answer at the end, the movie abruptly comes to a fade to white close. It's not about the kidnapper, but the secret.

mother! (2017)

What an utterly baffling movie. What's really frustrating is that I think I understood the allegory with my basic knowledge of the Bible and yet I was still baffled. Javier Bardem is God. And the house is Earth. That much I'm sure of, but Jennifer Lawrence is a little trickier. Is she the mother Earth? Is she the nature spirit? Is she Mary? Is she also Christ? I think there's probably a degree of truth to all those identities. That's what was confusing. Pick a metaphor and stick to it.

The movie itself defies categorization. It's marketed as a horror film, but it's not actually scary. What is scary is just the sheer number of people in the house and what terrible guests they are. But it's not really thrilling either. It's just uncomfortable. I will concede that the last twenty minutes of utter chaos is pretty impressive. It's an immersive, visceral experience.