Los Muertos

Alonso's first film was La Libertad (Freedom), and that name might apply equally well to his second, a minimalist road movie with exotic scenery. Vargas, who is in every scene bar the opening sequence, is released after serving a prison sentence for murder. He journeys back home into the jungle to rejoin his family. As far as plot goes, that's it - and while the writer/director doubtless has big themes in mind, you pretty much have to take these on trust. For most of the second half we watch Vargas paddling upstream in a canoe. At least he has an interesting face. If you let yourself slip into its verdant glide, the film does have a seductive, immersive quality, but then there's a pretentiously ambiguous non-ending to cope with, followed by a heavy blast of techno over the credits, the first music we've heard in 78 minutes.