NEW ORDER MOVIE REVIEW

From writer/director Michel Franco comes the controversial dystopian thriller, “New Order”. Violent protests erupt across the streets of Mexico as the poor and oppressed demand economic reform. Meanwhile, a wealthy family throws a lavish wedding for their daughter. When a former employee comes begging for financial assistance, only the bride to be Marianne (Naian Gonzalez Norvind) is willing to help. Accompanied by domestic servant Cristian (Fernando Cuautle), Marianne sneaks out of her own wedding to run a quick errand of mercy. No sooner has she left than the protestors break into her family’s compound. Stirred by years of resentment and neglect, many of the domestic servants side with the protestors and commence looting and terrorizing their employers and the wedding guests. Marianne and Cristian are rounded up by the Mexican army which uses the protests as justification for staging a coup and running a kidnapping ring they can pin on the protestors. What follows is a bleak descent into hell as society collapses, martial law is declared, and rich and poor alike are tortured, raped, and murdered. This is the “feel bad” movie of the year, but was it any good? Harmoni, Michael, Neil, and Marco all agreed on the film’s technical merits but struggled to define what, if anything, the film is trying to say and whether the message justified the emotional pummeling they received from watching it.

**This review is available in a longer, uncut, video version for TIME LORD subscribers and above right here**

OFFICIAL WEBSITE/TRAILER

DIRECTED BY: Michel Franco

STARRING: Naian Gonzalez Norvind, Diego Boneta, Mónica Del Carmen, Fernando Cuautle, Dario Yazbek, Eligio Meléndez, Roberto Medina, Patricia Bernal, Lisa Owen, Enrique Singer, Gustavo Sánchez Parra

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Harmoni Anderson (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews, Unstabletop Gaming)

Harmoni is a mermaid-haired, millennial, rum drinking, Section 31, Slytherin (who’s divorced J.K. Rowling) preschool/nursery teacher and multi genre geek who also loves all things film, tv, fashion, makeup, and an embarrassingly huge BTS stan. Like really embarrassing. As in, mention them and then sit back and watch the insanity. Harmoni likes being able to game and talk movies/TV with people that aren’t 3 feet tall or all that demanding of her. Plus she can curse at us and not get fired….so bonus!

 

 

Michael Van Slyke (Screener Squad)

Michael is a second-generation Air Force brat born in Tucson, raised in San Antonio, and living in Austin since the mid ’80s. Since being introduced to Star Trek as a child by his mother Michael has had an obsessive love of all things sci-fi. He is a cartoonist, illustrator, costumer, leatherworker, amateur luthier, singer, aspiring voice actor, and a motion graphics artist. With all these interests and skills, he thinks the term “Renaissance Man” sounds better than “artsy guy with ADHD”. He lives with his lovely and nerdy wife Harmoni Anderson and their two cats. When not watching and discussing sci-fi and fantasy movies and TV he looks for new hobbies and skills to try. He also listens to Harmoni try and teach him things about K-pop band BTS. Like… all the things about BTS.

 

 

Neil Anderson (Screener Squad)

I first got hooked on movies when I saw Star Wars at a drive-in theater as a kid. Growing up in a small, rural town meant not having access to a lot of movies. In college, that all changed. I couldn’t get enough. I love it all — flicks, films, movies, and cinema. I still have that wide-eyed wonder of that kid watching movies from the back of a pick-up truck at...