Slamdance 2022 Film Festival – I don’t think I’ve ever thought “WTF” to myself so many times in one viewing as I did with the science-fiction comedy, Ultrainocencia, screening during the 2022 Slamdance Film Festival. Written and directed by Manuel Arija, Ultrainocencia is a movie made for weirdos, and I mean that in the most loving and respectful way possible, as I would also say that it is equally made for those who enjoy movies that make you question tough subjects such as religion. From early on, Ultrainocencia establishes its comedic voice, producing some hilariously choreographed body acting and dance movements, and one endearingly optimistic pair of buddies that will win over hearts and take audiences to new dimensions.

This Spanglish-language film is full of silliness and surrealism, which proved to be a lethal combination that induced head-scratching, laugh-out-loud moments. The film was also unintentionally (I think) and ever so slightly erotic, with the friends often placing themselves in oddly sexual positions in order to complete their telepathic rituals. Though I found myself asking “what is happening” a lot, I also found myself laughing just as much. Pablo Molinero and David Climent are head-to-toe actors, that is, they use seemingly every fiber of their being, from rapid eyeball flinches to perfectly exaggerated flails during moments of lamentation. Additionally, I also found myself grooving to the catchy mantras sung by the characters, as well as the musical score that had everything from otherworldly overtures to badass industrial beats.

Ultrainocencia follows two friends — Adan (Pablo Molinero) and Orion (David Climent) — who are capable of tuning into and contacting different dimensions. After auditioning before a board of reviewers, they are taken under the wings of a team of scientists who work to strengthen their communication abilities. Bred from a young age to follow a religious path, Adan and Orion throw themselves into the hard work of being inter-dimensional pilots, contacting well over a thousand different dimensions on behalf of SPP, the leaders of a new age religion. It is around that time that their once solid friendship experiences some cracks, as unknown secrets about their roles in this mission become revealed, as well as tough revelations about their faith that are hard to live with.

There were quite a few instances where I questioned my sanity during this film, as the characters’ psychological integrity seemed to come into question with inanimate objects sometimes coming to life. Manual Arija does an excellent job at using interesting angles and editing the shots in a way where the film felt full of life even in its calmer moments. Furthermore, the color grading on this film was beautiful, playing with the brightness of light and the darkness of shadow to separate moments of reality from moments of irreality. One particularly well-done slow-motion and colorful sequence was quite intense but shot rather ethereally, feeling like a mind-trip as the film’s character continued to descend further into Arija’s trippy religio-science universe.

Ultrainocencia was an interesting mix of contradictions — funny but tragic, musical without feeling like you are watching a musical, ridiculously silly but oh so smart, and asked a slew of metaphorical questions but ended up being a darkly comedic journey with some life lessons for the protagonists — in short, it was a wild ride, but certainly a fun one! Viewing Ultrainocencia as bold storytelling and not just a comedy, I can see its deeper layers where the film gets a bit Bergmanesque in asking biting existential questions such as ‘what is heaven’ and ‘did god create us, or did we create god’ — like Bergman, the film answers in a darkly comedic but knowing way.

6.9 Out of 10