AFI FEST 2020 | "New Order" Is A Bleak, Harsh Take On A Dystopian Society
8/12 ForReel Score | 3/5 Stars
They say all is fair in love and war. In New Order (Nuevo Orden), the same is true when love and war go head to head.
In the middle of an outbreak during a classist-fueled war when a former housekeeper humbly asks for money to fund an expensive surgery for his family member, Marianne (Naian Gonzales Norvid),disrupts her wedding day to procure the financing he needs. This leads to her leaving the reception and driving into dangerous wartorn areas just outside of her high-end neighborhood. Chaos ensues, both in her travels and at the reception she had just left. And the effort by Marianne’s family to bring her back home proves to be daunting while she is held up by rebels with a group of mistreated hostages.
Naian puts on a great performance as the kind-hearted bride turned abused hostage victim, and the film manages to keep the pacing and entertainment value enticing. And if the point of the film is to depict the horror of dystopian warfare, the goal is accomplished in abundance. New Order is a punishing film for audiences - uncomfortable, unpredictable, and unrelenting. And in the end, it’s a film that might not have the payoff most would hope for. But as we all know when it comes to love and war, even that is fair.
Acting and Casting - 2 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 0 | Entertainment Value - 2 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 1 | Reviewer's Preference - 1 | What does this mean?