Days of Grace

Director Everardo Valerio Gout makes an instant impression with a dynamic debut that owes much to 1990s Hong Kong crime flicks like A Better Tomorrow and Hard-Boiled. But, while Gout capably interweaves a trio of storylines across three football World Cups between 2002 and 2010, this is never as dramatically compelling as Gerardo Naranjo's Miss Bala, which was shown at Cannes at the same time as this. Cinematographer Luis David Sansans's use of varying aspect ratios and handheld shakicam is complemented by the precision of the breakneck editing. But Gout's preoccupation with kinetic imagery and violent set pieces keeps the audience at a distance from honest cop Tenoch Huerta, delinquent Kristyan Ferrer and abducted businessman Carlos Bardem. It may feel more like pulp than art house, but it still maintains its grip, bound together by a score composed by Nick Cave among others.