Dundee Contemporary Arts

We Are What We Are (Somos lo que hay) (15)

19 November - 25 November 2010

Cinema

We Are What We Do is another welcome addition to the great Mexican tradition of using horror and gore as an allegory for contemporary social political issues. One critic aptly summed it up as a film that’s composed of the good parts of American Beauty butchered and left to rot in the Mexican heat. But Grau’s tale of cannibalism takes family dysfunction to a whole new level.

After the death of his father, young Alfredo (Francisco Barreiro) has to take control of his poverty-stricken family, who survive by repairing watches and eating the flesh of ritually-slaughtered victims. His sister Sabina supports him, but his brother Julian rebels. And his mother, a hard, controlling woman, offers nothing but recriminations and complaints. Plus, Alfredo is also struggling with his sexuality, which distracts somewhat from his task of hunting for human flesh.

All of these perverse dynamics are governed by the ‘big moral dogmas that rule everything’ in Mexican society, Grau says. But by turning his gaze also on the indifference of the society surrounding this family and their crimes, Grau is commenting on the callousness of contemporary Mexican society – if something doesn’t happen to you directly, you don’t get involved.

Rife with black humour and horror, We Are What We Do is not just an allegory of one city’s corruption, but also a frightening portrait of contemporary society’s collapse to sink one’s teeth into.

Director: Jorge Michel Grau

Duration: 1h30m

Country: Mexico

Language: Spanish with English subtitles

Year: 2010

Screenings
Date Time Offers
Fri 19 November 16:00
21:00
Sat 20 November 16:00
20:45
Sun 21 November 16:00
20:45
Mon 22 November 16:00
20:45
Tue 23 November 16:00
20:45
Wed 24 November 16:00
20:45
Thu 25 November 16:00
20:45