Most Beautiful Island

11/3/20171h 20m

Theatrical (limited) Release (US)

Overview:

Chronicling one harrowing day in the life of Luciana, a young woman struggling to make ends meet while striving to escape her past. As Luciana’s day unfolds, she is whisked, physically and emotionally, through a series of troublesome, unforeseeable extremes.

Director:

Ana Asensio

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

immigrant
exploitation
spider
based on true story
perversion
torture
cruelty
woman director
betting parlor
dangerous animal
spider venom
desperation
dangerous game
illegal immigrant

Cast

Ana Asensio

~ as ~

Luciana

Natasha Romanova

~ as ~

Olga

David Little

~ as ~

Doctor Horowitz

Nicholas Tucci

~ as ~

Niko

Larry Fessenden

~ as ~

Rudy

Caprice Benedetti

~ as ~

Vanessa

Anna Myrha

~ as ~

Nadia

Ami Sheth

~ as ~

Benedita

Miriam A. Hyman

~ as ~

Bikie

Sara Visser

~ as ~

Katarin

View full cast & crew

Reviews (3)

S
Svumpukkel85
Written 8 year(s) ago
~~
A total waste of time - not recommendable!
I
Igbochild
Written 3 year(s) ago
7
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the SXSW Film Festival, "Most Beautiful Island" explores the struggles of an undocumented woman living in New York City. On the verge of eviction and desperate for cash, Luciana (played by Ana Asensio, who also wrote and directed) finds out about an opportunity to earn some quick cash from one of her friends. What she soon discovers is that she has gotten herself into a lot more than she bargained for.

In a cool and understated performance, Asensio effectively captures the desperation and cynicism of her character. The film unfolds like a cinema verite documentary, where the audience is following the characters like a fly on the wall. It gives the film a raw quality at times, but works well for this type of film.

The film was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award from Film Independent for Best Feature made for under $500,000. "Most Beautiful Island" is by no means glossy or slick, demonstrates how you can tell a suspenseful story on a limited budget. It does this by placing a lot of the action off-screen until the conceit of the film is revealed. This also keeps the point of view of the film clearly on the women until the very end.
r
rollerderby
Written 9 month(s) ago
~~
Stylish and gritty thriller that I found compelling. Somewhat of a slow burn, but deft pacing, realistic characterization and an intriguing plot kept me hooked till the end. I give it 8 out of 10.