"Los Conductos" is not an easy watch and for the first fifteen minutes or so of this reasonably short film, (seventy minutes in total), you may be as much in the dark as the apparent protagonist literally is, particularly as he is the only character on screen, events, such as they are, happen in almost total darkness and there's no dialogue. A gun has been fired and he appears to be handling drugs so is this going to be a thriller? That doesn't seem likely, even after our protagonist begins his 'noirish' narration.
Shot in the Academy ratio on Kodak 16mm film, Camilo Restrepo's film begins like a political thriller but without the politics or the thrills, not quite avant-garde and not quite experimental but certainly not designed for mass consumption and bold enough to at least hold your attention as you try to figure out exactly what's happening. Restrepo's first feature is certainly original and it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. As it has already garnered prizes at the Berlin and Mar Del Plata festivals I don't think he has anything to worry about.
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