The Mosquito Net

Far darker but no less witty or insightful than Agustí Vila’s earlier ‘A Bench in the Park’, this caustic account of family life begins brilliantly with a couple returning home to find that their overly sensitive teenage son has added yet another stray dog (or dogs?) to the pack of mutts he’s already collected. Cue increased tension between dad (who takes to bemoaning his woes to their attractive young cleaner) and mum (whose attempts to help out her beloved boy by enlisting the efforts of his best friend have their own problematic outcomes), their spiralling troubles sounding echoes in the experiences of other family members. A very dry, very black comedy about the difficulties and responsibilities of living with others, and the degradation of emotions through self-serving fantasy, it’s as sharply bracing and refreshing as unsweetened lemon juice.