The Box

Directed by Lorenzo Vigas, The Box follows Hatzín Navarrete’s Hatzín as he travels from his home to pick up the remains of his father but does, on the journey back, spot a man (Hernán Mendoza’s Mario) who’s the spitting image of his dead pop. Filmmaker Vigas, armed with a script written with Paula Markovitch, kicks The Box off with an exceedingly weird opening stretch focused on Hatzín’s dogged pursuit of Mendoza’s character and the movie does, as a result, suffer from a palpable arms-length feel for much of its first half, with the tolerable atmosphere, then, due almost entirely to Sergio Armstrong G.’s sporadically striking visuals and the stirring, engaging efforts of stars Navarrete and Mendoza. There’s little doubt, however, that The Box improves substantially as it progresses into an erratic yet mostly compelling midsection, as Vigas does an effective job of developing the relationship between Hatzín and Mario and, eventually, exploring the former’s growing unease over the latter’s decidedly sketchy tactics. And although the exceedingly lackadaisical pace remains a problem from start to finish, The Box closes with a comparatively enthralling final stretch that’s capped off with a perfect finale – which does, in the end, cement the film’s place as a predominantly watchable piece of work that generally lives up to the promise of Vigas’ debut feature (2015’s From Afar).

**1/2 out of ****