Levers

As darkness envelops the forests and houses of a small provincial town following a mysterious phenomenon with global implications, the tensions that had been simmering within the small local community begin to surface and intertwine with fragments of television and radio transmissions, each competing to broadcast the bigger conspiracy. Enigmatic and captivating, LEVERS immerses viewers in a dreamlike, unsettling landscape, where indigenous symbolism meets the strange and ethereal sensuality of 16mm images shot on defective Bolex cameras. As much timeless as it is deeply contemporary, Canadian filmmaker Rhayne Vermette’s second feature is a masterful exercise in a type of provincial surrealism reminiscent of Guy Maddin (also hailing from Manitoba, just like the director), and David Lynch, eschewing the norms of classic narration and clear interpretations in favor of a cinematic experience that unfolds like a vision. (Oana Ghera)