Twelve Moons | OBSCURAE at TriBeCa

OK - so maybe that wasn't the whole point, but that's what I came away with.

What starts as the aftermath of grief upon grief quickly spirals into a dreamlike madness in this incredibly shocking and haunting film from Victoria Franco, starring the ever gripping Ana de la Reguera. It spans a few different modes of grief - where two modes intersect - as Sofia grapples with not being able to start a family, and what that means about motherhood, lineage, and the comfort you sometimes leave behind in search of life.

The use of color, or the lack of it, is merely tertiary to where we follow Sophia - in her eyes and her substance abuse are all the colours you may need. Near the end you'll understand why we had to take this dark journey - because this film isn't just about the depths Sofia has to go through - it's how little she is raised from those depths by her partner in life.

The one person meant to be her rock, to actually have kindness and help her process her grief, has left her completely on her own, dealing with her as a burden, an asset, a thing that isn't of consequence or care to him.

Many will make a meal of the filmmaking and the performance, as they well should, because they are singular - but I feel, more than any arthouse film of this type that I've watched, that the story is the most vital, alive and sparkling element of this fire.

I can't recall watching a film so hopeful about such seemingly hopeless things. A performance so alive for a character feeling so dead. The unravelling of a professional woman so complete as to almost stun you, only to watch as real, honest and comforting love heals all.

In "Twelve Moons", the question and the answer is family.