The Incident

A more appropriate title might be “Groundhog Day in Hell.” When two brothers are apprehended on drug charges in an apartment complex, one of them attempts to flee. The pursuing officer shoots him in the leg and the three end up at the bottom of a maintenance stairwell. As they try to leave, they notice something strange… there’s no bottom floor; the stairs just take them right back to the top. The trio discovers they’ve become trapped in an infinitely looping stairwell. In a seemingly parallel universe, a well-to-do suburban family is confined to an endless stretch of Mexican highway with a daughter who’s descending into anaphylactic shock. What begins as a Kafka-esque parable is transformed by a jarring turn midway through as director Isaac Ezban’s masterful ambitions unspool. With high-energy editing and an unprecedented narrative structure, THE INCIDENT spurs mind-bending questions about the relationship between time and reality, as well as the prospect of redemption. (In Spanish with subtitles) – C.P.