By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

Let Me Fall (Iceland/Finland/Germany, 2018): Who knew Icelandic movies could be so grim? (anybody who saw Under the Tree, for starters). Let Me Fall revolves around Magnea, a bright fifteen-year-old, who falls for the slightly older Stella. This attraction leads Magnea straight into addiction, a descent detailed to the most painful detail by the movie.

If you had any hopes Magnea would see the error of her ways, the movie quickly manages to bury them: We see glimpses of adult Magnea from early on and it’s not a pretty sight. The film steers clear from becoming misery porn by giving each major character considerable depth. Let Me Fall is a dark journey of the soul but one worth taken, although it may put you off from having children (or at the very least, dissuade you from free-range rearing). Four stars. Distribution: I hope so!

El Angel (Argentina, 2018): Based on the most “popular” criminal in Argentinian history (one who has been serving a life sentence for the last 45 years for a gamut of crimes and misdemeanors), El Angel is an entertaining riff on the lifestyle of the lawless and infamous, while coming short on insight. Carlitos (newcomer Lorenzo Ferro) is a baby-faced sociopath with a penchant for breaking and entering. His association with classmate Ramón (Chino Darín) and his ne’er-do-well father elevates his game, but Carlitos’ unpredictability threatens to derail the enterprise at every corner, particularly after he develops a crush on Ramón.

While the sequence of events that turned the maladjusted teen into Buenos Aires’ most wanted is fascinating, the character itself is one note throughout the entire movie. I’m positive even sociopaths learn something about what’s beneficial and what leads to certain doom. Two and a half stars. Distribution: Likely.