Abel

Diego Luna's first film as a director follows Abel, nine years old, who has stopped speaking. After returning home from hospital he begins behaving as the father of the house; he gives instructions to his mother and siblings and sits at the head of the table at dinner. The family adapts and an order takes hold. The idea lies in that acceptance. The mother does not break her son's role because the household works this way; the actual problem arises only when the real father returns. Luna mostly holds the balance between comedy and discomfort. The child actor Christopher Ruiz-Esparza carries the film, with his brother also in the cast. It screened at Sundance. In the final section the tone hardens and the comedy is dropped entirely, a transition some viewers found abrupt. Who it's for: those who like Mexican independent cinema and strange comedies built on family dynamics. Who it's not for: viewers who would find a child's mental health handled in a light frame troubling.