Chaotic Ana

If ever a film could be described as ‘one for the fans’, ‘Chaotic Ana’ is it, a lyrical and formally audacious work from Spanish auteur, Julio Medem which manages to confound and surprise at every turn. Sticking closely to pet themes of memory, eroticism and human conflict (as well as flaunting an unhealthy fixation with palindromes), the film tells the story of Ana, a young artist who discovers through hypnosis that she’s lived the lives of numerous women throughout history who have all met a painful and untimely end. Medem’s determination to keep the visual and thematic symmetry in place often comes at the detriment of character progression, and it’s a shame that the film’s two most memorable scenes (both scatologically inclined) feel totally isolated from the main narrative.