Weekend films

'Presence', the point of view of a ghost according to Steven Soderbergh

The horror film by the famous American director arrives in theatres. A stranger in Tunis" is also among the new releases

25 July 2025

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3' min read

The subjective shot is one of the most fascinating technical choices in the entire history of cinema: Steven Soderbergh knows this well and has decided to use it in its entirety in 'Presence', one of the weekend's most important new releases in cinemas, taking us through the whole film through the point of view of... a ghost.

Set in a large American residential home, the film recounts the arrival in the home of the Payne family, who are looking for a fresh start after a tragic event that has deeply scarred their youngest daughter Chloe. Soon, however, sinister and inexplicable events begin to occur: the girl is the first to sense a disturbing presence in her room, but her words are initially ignored. As the days pass, however, strange noises, imperceptible movements and misplaced objects become more and more frequent, undermining the family's serenity and fuelling latent tensions.

The new guests become convinced that the house is inhabited by an evil force, something that was already there before their arrival.

The plot may be reminiscent of that of many other horror films of the past, but the great originality lies in the fact that the story is not told from the point of view of human beings, but from that of the mysterious entity that silently observes and influences them, with disturbing patience.

The spectator sees through the eyes of this invisible but omnipresent presence, who witnesses the family's certainties crumbling.

“Presence” e gli altri film della settimana
Photogallery4 foto

Soderbergh's experiments

Steven Soderbergh has always been one of the great experimenters of contemporary American cinema, as he has also demonstrated by shooting feature films entirely with iPhones (an example is the disturbing psychological thriller 'Unsane', with which 'Presence' has more than a passing affinity) or through narrative structures that are truly anomalous for today's industry: think of 'Panama Papers' or 'Let Them Talk', two excellent films starring Meryl Streep that have remained too underrated.

Also in 'Presence', he confirms his ability to make incisive use of very light means, capable of lending authenticity to a product rich in theoretical insights into what the language of cinema is today.

In some passages the game shows a little bit of the rope with a few too many moments that are partly an end in themselves, but on the whole the film is one of the most intriguing horror films of recent months and undoubtedly a film that does not leave one indifferent, thanks to its highly innovative scope.

A stranger in Tunis

Among the new releases in the cinemas is 'A stranger in Tunis' by Mehdi Barsaoui. The protagonist is Aya, a young woman from Tozeur, a city in the south of Tunisia, where she lives a grey, dead-end everyday life.

After being left alone following a serious misfortune that spared only her - a car accident in which all the other passengers in the minivan she was travelling in lost their lives - Aya decides to take the opportunity to disappear, change her identity and leave behind an oppressive past. With the burden of survival on her shoulders, she moves to Tunis, where she begins a new life as a stranger in a city that attracts her but at the same time disorients her.

Presented at the Venice Film Festival 2024 in the Orizzonti section, "A Stranger in Tunis" is a film that speaks in a particularly strong manner about important themes such as identity, freedom and justice. The protagonist is forced to make a choice that will affect her future and her safety.

There is a lot at stake in this film, which is full of interesting reflections, but also partly falls victim to a somewhat too chaotic pace and some script twists that are not always credible to the point.

The commitment is all there, but the film could have been even more relevant with a few more touches.