★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★
Directed by Fernando Fraiha
Based on the novel Mountain Range by Daniel Galera, Welcome, Violeta! is a stark, yet beautiful psychological thriller from Brazillian director Fernando Farina.
It is the story of Ana (Débora Falabella), an author who attends a prestigious writer’s workshop called “the end of the world” workshop in the remote mountains of Argentina so she can focus on finishing her second novel, Violeta. The workshop is run by Holden (Darío Grandinetti) a cult like leader who guides Ana and a select few through the creative process using very untraditional methods. While there, Ana is pushed to her limits and must reconcile her art with her life and determine how far she is willing to go for her art.
This film is absolutely stunning to look at. The cinematography and setting will have you checking the expiration date on your passport. While this film is not capital “h” horror, it is moody, dark and very disturbing. That should be no surprise since it comes from producer Rodrigo Teixeira, who brought us horror favorites The Witch and The Lighthouse and it also references “the director’s own experiences as a young person entrapped by a cult-like artistic community”.
Welcome, Violeta! recently had its world premier at the Brooklyn Film Festival and won the Sprit Award for narrative feature film. Stay tuned to The Scariest Things for an upcoming wide release date.