Moscas (Flies)

If the festival gave out an award for Best Opening Scene, Moscas would be the clear winner.

Without spoken dialogue, the viewer is introduced to Olga, whose peaceful silence is disturbed by a bothersome fly in the apartment and we witness her various efforts to rid herself of the interloper. Her routine is interrupted again by foot pain, and a doctor’s visit informs her of the cost of surgery. As a way to make money, the middle-aged woman decides to rent out a room to a stranger, unaware that the man is also sneaking in his nine-year-old son Cristian.

The perspective shifts to the family with Olga’s encounter of Cristian’s father, but once the landlady discovers the boy, she gradually becomes part of his story. Many a parallel is drawn between characters, even if they are not aware of it themselves. When Cristian wants to bring a pair of slippers to his hospitalised mother, he is given a speech about bunions by a clinician. Neither of them know about Olga’s corresponding plight.

From the titular flies to the animated pixels of an arcade game, Mexican director Fernando Eimbcke emphasises the little things in his latest feature. While he also employs wider shots, it is often the close-ups that speak to one another and drive the narrative. Cristian is shown as incredibly observant and the camera tracks the things he notices. The details he collects aid him in his quest to see his mother, identifying the right incentives to bribe his way past access restrictions.

It is a very intimate style of storytelling that works in total concurrence with the young actor Bastián Escobar’s subtle performance. Seasoned actress Teresa Sánchez, who plays Olga, adds the right stability to their shared scenes, complementing her co-star’s debut role.

Flies is a tender drama that highlights the art and craft of the audiovisual, where spoken language becomes secondary. Short and sweet, its beauty lies in the accumulation of small moments that add up to a larger whole.

Selina Sondermann

Moscas (Flies) does not have a release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Berlin Film Festival coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Berlin Film Festival website here.