I Will Survive

Netflix

3.5/5 stars

The biggest challenge with setting a film almost entirely in one location with only one actor is keeping the scenes from getting redundant and keeping audiences from losing interest. A skilled director can solve this by gradually ratcheting up the tension and keeping viewers on edge, wondering how the hero will overcome these new challenges. Albert Pinto does exactly this with his new thriller Nowhere, a suspenseful story that only occasionally takes its premise into the realm of the ridiculous but is saved by a strong central performance.

In the not-too-distant future, a food crisis has caused Spain to devolve into a totalitarian regime. Nine-months-pregnant Mia (Anna Castillo) and her husband Nico (Tamar Novas) are attempting to flee to Ireland inside of large shipping crates. Circumstance separates the couple and soon Mia finds herself alone in a crate. Things get worse when a storm throws the crate off the ship and Mia is now trapped in the middle of the ocean.

The director uses speculative fiction to tell a story that is happening to many people in the world today. That message is there but at its heart, this is a survival story. All the tension is in watching Mia's clever solutions as things go from bad to worse and it is anchored by Castillo's strong performance, a must for a film that is mostly centered around one character. Unfortunately, the film runs long and the increasingly stacked problems Mia faces soon strain credibility to the point of silliness, but thankfully, it never goes completely off the rails. Nowhere doesn't break any new ground, but it makes for some tense entertainment. Nowhere is currently available on Netflix.

Directed by Albert Pinto // Written by Ernest Riera, Teresa de Rosendo, Seanne Winslow, Miguel Ruz, and Indiana Lista // Starring Anna Castillo, Tamar Novas, Irina Bravo, Victoria Teijeiro, and Emma Sanchez // 109 minutes // Netflix // Rated R