The Beasts (15)
Directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen 

THE THEME of feuding neighbours takes on a deadly note in this slow burning yet intense drama from Spanish film-maker Rodrigo Sorogoyen. 

Inspired by a true story, it follows a middle-aged French couple (Denis Menochet and Marina Fois) who have been living in a beautiful yet remote small village in Galicia, Spain, for two years where they have been communing with nature and running an organic farm. 

However they are still considered to be outsiders by their neighbours, the Anta brothers (Luis Zahera and Diego Anido), who are incensed that as foreigners Antoine (Menochet) and Olga (Fois) have an equal say over the future of their community with those who have lived there all their lives. They are incandescent that they have robbed them of life-changing income by voting against the plan of a developer to buy their land for a wind farm. 

Sorogoyen teamed up with his long-time writing partner Isabel Pena to pen this terrifying thriller, driven home by powerhouse performances from Menochet, Zahera and Fois, which examines how men and women deal with confrontation. It also pits the worldly European urbanite against the simple Spanish villager who has never left home and the resulting fear and distrust that comes from the assumption that he is ignorant. 

The first half of the film is seen through Antoine’s eyes and is a very difficult watch. Borrowing from the genre of the western it explores male toxicity as you observe Antoine, armed with a video camera, dealing with escalating threats and violence from Xan (Zahera) and Lorenzo (Anido) until it ends in a brutal final showdown. 

The second half is viewed from Olga’s perspective as she fights for justice and takes a stand against the violence of the men around her. She doesn’t fight with weapons and believes there is always another solution. She vehemently defends her decision to accompany her husband to Galicia which she states was her choice in an extraordinary mother and daughter clash. Her tale culminates in an emotional climax which is just as powerful and heart-stopping as her husband's. 

This is a shocking yet complex master film-making by Sorogoyen and worthy of the nine Goyas it won at this year’s Spanish film awards. 

Out in cinemas today.