Misael (Misael Saavedra) takes a break from cutting trees, sees his dog, a pitbull, pass by, pets him. That’s enough cutting trees for that day, building a fence for either himself, his neighbour, or both. Now that he finishes a day’s work, he washes his face, eats his food, and listens to his little radio. Double Freedom, Lisandro Alonso’s sequel to his divisive slow cinema epic, feels like a series of breaks and work. But eventually, the film evolves to be one about disruptions, breaking Misael from a life of rituals. He goes into town to visit his neuroatypical sister Micaela (Catalina Saavedra) at the institution where she lives. He finds out from that doctor that the institution is shutting down and he becomes her legal guardian.

The thing about films is that writing about them is difficult because there is so much to discuss. At first glance, it feels like the opposite for slow cinema, but watching those is like watching paintings. It’s either viewers are making somethings out of nothing or maybe those somethings are hiding in plain sight. The supposed plot vacuum makes one ask questions about the relative loner, like how does food last there? Why is he chopping that specific tree branch that looks like it won’t make for good lumber? I can’t believe I’m being pretentious about a film ripe for pretentiousness but maybe that log is a metaphor. Double Freedom isn’t perfect but there’s a lot here, including Catalina Saavedra’s wonderful performance.