We Are What We Are (A)

While the audience for whom this picture would appeal is admittedly small, Jorge Michael Grau’s writing/directorial debut is both a well-crafted thriller and a look at cities so lost to corruption, fear, and poverty the people begin to lose sight of their humanity.

When his father dies, Alfredo (Francisco Barreiro) must lead his family, despite intense hatred from his mother (Carmen Beato) and a burning rivalry with his disturbed brother Julian (the late Alan Chavez). With the assistance of his sister Sabina (Paulina Gaitan), Alfredo begins to look through the Mexican ghetto he lives in for his prey. His family is made up of cannibals, who feel compelled to complete their bloodthirsty rituals in order to survive.

Meanwhile, corrupt and ineffective policemen Tito (Daniel Gimenez Cacho) and Owen (Jorge Zarate) see that they may be able to prove and redeem themselves by catching the murderers.

Grau (best known for the short film “Mi hermano”) constructs a chilling thriller. The audience is riveted to every minute. The opening is powerful and scary and the tension reaches fever pitch half way in and does not subside, even after the credits role. The cinematography (Santiago Sanchez) and art direction (Gabriel Tapai) never seem artificial, but it still reveals a depressing, dark world which is both lonely and crowdedly claustrophobic. Cinematic newbie Enrico Chapela manages to craft a frightening and strident score that amplifies the effect.

In another good choice, Grau (apparently with influence from Beato) chooses to leave most of the violence and nudity implied. Rest assured, the picture is graphically bloody, but these choices feel necessary and the audience is never distracted by gratuitous content.

The film is about the plight of urban Mexico, but its tale of people choosing loyalties and gaining bitter feuds in a desperate chance to survive can be applicable in many situations (inner city ganglands in the United States, for example). There are little solutions offered, and coupled with its violence the movie is unlikely to please much of an audience (with the exception of a few scares and a chilling ending which may please horror film fanatics). Nevertheless, the message rings true and the artistic quality is exceptional.

We Are What We Are is not for everyone, but it does offer some insights and constructs arguably the world’s best cannibal thriller.