Ritual - Una storia psicomagica

"Ritual" skilfully avoids all the typical thriller clichés to flesh out characters that are neither "good" nor "bad" but rather real humans with strengths and weaknesses, fears and proclivities. The story is multilayer and strong with scenes of seduction, love, levity, breakdown and suspension of belief woven into a fine fabric of fictitious fate.

There is a deep emotional and sexual tension that keeps the viewer alert and aroused. The acting is edgy, but believable, never letting you be comfortable for too long. The directing by the first feature film co-directing team is balanced and beautiful. It is edited to a perfectly-paced and impactful 90 minutes which leaves the viewer with almost all the elements to digest the complex undercurrents of the nifty narrative.

The film's content and title reference the theories (and arguably some surrealist artistry) of Chilean-French Alejandro Jodorowsky who introduced the concept of psychomagic. A pragmatic melange of modern psychotherapy and mysticism to help people in emotional distress by ritualistically performing symbolic acts which the unconscious mind may understand as facts.

Nothing is overtly overexplained, overdramatized or drawn out in the movie, leaving you with a satisfying sensibility and a pallet of possibilities. This subdued psychological exploration deserves a standing ovation.