Cheese (2022) SXSW 2022

Damian Marcano's CHEESE is a one of a kind film. Its a film with enough style to burn several times over. At the same time it's full of great characters, funny lines and enough life that if you are like me you'll be jonesing to see what Marcano does next.

The plot of the film has a young man named Skimma as he tries to decide whether to stay or leave his small village  and take care of his unbrn child all while becoming his villages biggest weed supplier thanks to his working with the local cheese manufacturer.

While the film 's look is going to be what everyone talks about, I mean this film is so perfectly designed that even the subtitles are important to the visuals, people are going to forget about the characters. Marcano isn't putting cliched characters on screen,rather he has given us people we can connect to and feel for. They aren't the creations of actors but people we know living in a real place. That may not sound like an achievement but lets face it alost everytime we watch a movie we never really forget we are watching actors in a made up place. That isn't the case here.

As I said above much is going to be made of the look of the film. Marcano is truly painting with light as the intensity of colors comes and goes as does the differing type of film stock. More than almost any film in the last few years CHEESE announces itself as the work of not just a filmmaker but an artist. And while Marcano had a crew helping him, it's clear that there is a singular vision operating here that brings it all together. If you need proof consider that how the subtitles look and how they appear are were chosen by the director as opposed to the distibutor.

I need to repeat that his is a really good film that heralds the arrival of a great talent. I am looking forward to Marcano's next film. More to the point I'm hoping he gets a chance to work for the big studios where his masterful storytelling will upset the norms and change the way we experience films.

Recommended.