The Sleepwalkers

A New Year’s celebration at the family estate devolves into a Bergmanesque chaos in Paula Hernández’s intimately told coming-of-age story from the Argentinian countryside.

13-year-old Ana joins her family for the New Year’s celebration at her grandmother’s large estate. Teenage rebellion is brewing inside her, but will not be the only source of tension when all the relatives get together. Ana is a sleepwalker, but the film’s title also grows into an elegant metaphor for a whole family turning a blind eye to inevitable tragedy, slowly but steadily approaching. Through beautiful cinematography, taut dialogue and sharp intrigue, Paula Hernández has crafted an up-close coming-of-age story which also, through the eyes of Ana, tackles disintegrating marriages and strained family relations.

• Olle Agebro