Most Beautiful Island (18)

Most Beautiful Island (18)

F-Rated

Fri 2 – Thu 8 Feb

Fri 2, 8.30pm

Sat 3, 2pm & 5.30pm

Tue 6, 8.30pm

Wed 7, 6pm

Thu 8, 8.30pm

Dir. Ana Asensio, Spain/US, 2017, 80 mins, some subtitles. Cast. Ana Asensio, Natasha Romanova, David Little, Nicholas Tucci.

A day in the life of an undocumented Spanish immigrant in New York is given the Grand Guignol treatment. Inspired by her own experiences, director-writer-producer Asensio plays Luciana, a Spanish immigrant trying to build a life for herself in the Big Apple. With no social security number and thus no hope of a steady income, she is forced to take work where she can. When her Russian friend Olga suggests a highly-paid, no-questions-asked job, Luciana is in no position to say no. A veritable masterclass in mounting tension and insidious discomfort, Asensio expertly utilises genre conventions to heighten her dark and often painfully sad parable about exploitation and the American Dream.