Berlinale

'Moscas', an unexpected bond to defeat loneliness

In competition at the Berlin Film Festival the new film by the talented Mexican director Fernando Eimbcke

by Andrea Chimento

20 February 2026

A sinistra un fotogramma del film «Moscas»; a destra una scena del film «River Dreams»

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Two extremely distant gazes end up suddenly meeting: at the heart of 'Moscas', a Mexican film presented in competition at the Berlinale, is the meeting of two existences, only apparently incompatible.

Directed by the talented Fernando Eimbcke (last year his 'Olmo' was one of the most interesting titles at the German festival), 'Moscas' is about Olga, a woman who lives an existence devoid of friends and relationships. When in dire financial straits, she finds herself forced to rent a room that will be inhabited by a man and his nine-year-old son. Surprising herself first, Olga will begin to have a deep connection with the child, so much so that she will begin to see the world with different eyes.

It is precisely around this relationship that a script revolves, with which Eimbcke confirms his talent for talking about very young characters, as he had already done in the aforementioned 'Elm', but also in his previous 'On Lake Tahoe' in 2008.

The child in 'Moscas', whose mother is hospitalised, is carefully written and it is noticeable how the Mexican author's camera is credible in rendering his point of view.

The direction lives up to it, while also paying good attention to portraying the character of Olga, a very rigid woman who is tired of a life that has led her to have practically no emotions.

Una scena tratta dal film «Moscas»

A touching but overly rhetorical film

The block of flats in which the protagonist lives also proposes ideas related to the theme of social hierarchies, although the film could have pushed a little more on that political side that is characterising this Berlinale with various controversies (the statements of jury president Wim Wenders at the opening press conference raised a fuss that led to an official letter in which many artists asked the festival to take a clear position on Gaza).

Shot in black and white, 'Moscas' seems to look back to the films of Vittorio De Sica and Italia's neorealism, managing to touch deep chords but at times risking some unnecessary rhetorical and blackmailing excess.

Nevertheless, it remains a heartfelt and very interesting product, capable of providing some flashes of excitement in this year's Berlinale competition, which was anything but exciting.

Una scena tratta dal film «River Dreams»

River Dreams

Less conventional titles often come from the side sections, and 'River Dreams', a debut feature by Kazakh director Kristina Mikhailova, belongs to this category.

Included in the Forum Special section, this is a documentary with a rather experimental slant, in which the director asks women and girls to imagine themselves as a river.

It opens like a sort of subjective dream in this feature film that gives voice to very different female figures. It deals with many sensitive topics - from toxic masculinity to sexual violence, to the uxoricide carried out by a Kazakhstan minister - but also with happier subjects, including hopes, dreams and utopias.

At times it falls into excessive didacticism, but it remains a viewing experience that offers a broad overview of the topics it aims to investigate and has a good balance between the words of the people interviewed and the images of the natural world.