The volatile relationship between a wayward teen (Nicolás Durán) and his disapproving father (Alejandro Goic) comes to a head when the boy seeks shelter from the police, in this intense new film from Chilean writer-director Fernando Guzzoni.

 

In Santiago, Chile, 18-year-old Jesus lives alone with his father Hector in a flat where the TV covers up their inability to communicate. The rest of the time, he dances in a K-pop band, hangs out with friends and does drugs, watches trashy video clips online and has dangerous sex in public places – all in constant search of the next big thrill. One night, he finds it in an irreversible misadventure with friends – a violent event that brings Jesus and Hector closer than ever, but also threatens to tear them apart forever.

 

Writer-director Fernando Guzzoni‘s debut feature Dog Flesh, a portrait of a former torturer under Augusto Pinochet, won San Sebastian’s New Directors Prize in 2012 and established the filmmaker as a director to watch. Jesus, his follow-up, provides no simple resolutions for the moral quandaries it raises. But even so, the rich chiaroscuro images of the young men’s activities — whether they’re traipsing randomly through the night, partying hard, or watching snuff porn — bring us ever closer to understanding where these boys are coming from. Jesus is a startling, humane film that depicts the dark side of adolescent aimlessness and takes us to the frontier dividing loyalty and justice.

 

Check out the trailer below and make sure to pre-order your copy, coming to DVD in September.

 

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