This Sundance hit features breakout star Juno Temple (Killer Joe) in an unnerving psychological mood piece from Chilean writer-director Sebastián Silva. “The movie itself is even crazier than its protagonist.” — Screendaily
A young woman seems to be losing her mind in Magic Magic, but the movie itself is even crazier than its protagonist.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2013
Magic Magic 2013
This unnerving Sundance hit features breakout star Juno Temple (Killer Joe) in a harrowing psychological mood piece from Chilean writer-director Sebastián Silva. Temple stars as Alicia, a young woman who leaves America for a holiday in Chile with her cousin Sarah. Planning to travel to an island, before they can leave Sarah departs for Santiago, leaving Alicia alone with strangers, including the oddball Brink (Michael Cera), a bully who enjoys picking on her. Alienated from everyone, she begins to lose sleep, starts to hallucinate and slowly spirals into a vortex of madness. Silva manages to convey a sense of dread without ever crossing over into full-blown horror territory: it’s a slow burn with gonzo moments, all stunningly captured by Chris Doyle’s cinematography. Silva channels Polanski with sharp nods towards female body horror, and Temple, like Deneuve and arrow before her, anchors the film with a bewitching performance, full of nuance and manic hyperactivity. — Ant Timpson