Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: IMMERSION [Miami International Film Festival 2022 - Virtual]

The precept of gut per se is that the idea of instinct is usually right especially in a situation perhaps one doesn't understand. It is always an aspect of where caution begins and the manners of normal society end. The concept of the film "Immersion" places a man with his two daughters going to their property on a lake in Chile which was been abandoned for years. The idea is the aspect of whether to help some men who are sinking on a boat or to leave them. The texture is one of profiling but also one of caution. Are people who they say they are or is it a scam as a pretext to violence or thievery. "Immersion" is good at playing the sly while also highlighting the prejudice of would-be locals, tourists, natives and class structure. Plus the added element of an older father with his two mid-20s daughters alone on a lake adds fuel to the fire. It is a recipe for dread.

Also in play is that there happens to be some strife within the family anyway and this situation exacerbates it. Director Nicolás Postiglione knows how to rachet up the reasoning and tension just enough while moving towards unforeseen allowances in terms of accusations. This happens with a cooler, a bag on a boat and beyond. Granted the younger men that they are helping are not completely upfront either but that is their right per se as well. Postiglione knows that these are completely human aspects and reactions but in a state of survival or protection, people can do odd things. Alfredo Castro as the father is an interesting mix of passive and aggressive while also being torn between old school protection and a new way of thinking. Interestingly enough the action in the film just takes place over one day and into the night. It doesn't answer all the questions per se but it shows why things happen the way they do, whether by circumstance, choice or just by accident. B

By Tim Wassberg