Manticore

Twenty-something Madrid native Julian (Nacho Sanchez) is a creature modeller for video games. But even when he isn’t locked into his VR headset, he’s somehow removed from the world around him. Then a shocking event – he saves a child from a fire in the apartment next door – triggers a spiralling exploration of hitherto untapped darker impulses. Carlos Vermut’s subdued but potent exploration of one man’s struggle with a side of his psyche that he barely admits to himself, let alone understands, makes for uneasy viewing. Yet it’s a provocative and intelligently handled picture which explores the impact of isolation and social dislocation on a troubled soul.

Wendy Ide / Screen Daily