“Leaving the World Behind”, a new version of Breakdown | From Sam Ismail on Netflix

guion: Roman Allam and Wissam Ismail

Duration: 138 minutes

Performers: Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, Kevin Bacon, Mihala, Farrah McKenzie, Charlie Evans.

the first show: Available on Netflix.

As has been the case for decades with Christmas movies, which are usually released in Hollywood during the holiday season, or with romantic movies, which are scheduled to coincide with the celebration of Valentine’s Day in February, and even with horror movies, which come last. From October to take advantage of the Halloween weather, it seems that since then Netflix We’re determined to start a new seasonal tradition: making apocalyptic movies an end-of-the-year event. This happened in December 2020 with Midnight sky (George Clooney) and also in 2021 with Don’t look up (Adam McKay).

The red N platform raises its ante by leave the world behind youwhich he shares with them The intention depicts a new version of global collapse, with a very different proposal. It is true that in only three cases, it is too hasty to conclude that this is a planned trend. But the idea is not far-fetched, as the end of the 21st century was filled with a darker climate, which was not noticeable before the year 2000, creating the right atmosphere to start thinking about the Apocalypse. Yes, we will know that in Argentina after 2001.

The film builds tension from the empathy generated by its characters, a typical family who rents a summer house to rest for a few days outside the city. But a series of inexplicable events and the arrival of some strangers will put them on the defensive. Much of this atmosphere is also supported by a highly stylized score, built on a foundation of settings and camera movements that are as complex as they are annoying. But these displays of ingenuity, initially attractive because of their atypical nature, soon reveal themselves to be harmless. Its accumulation often responds to a trivial cinematic whim that trivializes its own procedures, while at the same time sterilizing the viewer’s gaze.

leave the world behind you He dialogues with his era, giving his story a political background that leads to increasingly conspiratorial readings of reality. This is a trait that until recently seemed limited to the extreme right, but it has also begun to penetrate the other end of the ideological spectrum. Where was this film narrated? In fact, all of its protagonists belong to the progressive upper middle class, the perception of which is, however, deeply Hobbesian disillusionment. A pessimism that arises from the impossibility of perceiving one’s own world whose logic is difficult to understand (and therefore predict), where the closed red circle is responsible for promoting chaos for its own benefit.