By Mark Saldana
Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars)
I found this film to be the most stylistically interesting film of the festival. Written and directed by Veronica Chen, a talented filmmaker of Chinese ethnicity, but born in Argentina and raised in Texas, Mujer Conejo shows the influences of Chinese, Argentine, and American cultures in its story and also combines live action and Manga-style animation. Chen’s film tells a story about a state employee named Ana who discovers corruption within the police department and seeks the means to bring down the underworld and its corrupt ties to law enforcement. While on the run from the criminal heavies, she discovers a bizarre animal experiment involving rabbits which may hold the key to her success.
Even though I really enjoyed the style in which this story is presented as well as the insightful look at Chinese-Argentinian culture, certain bizarre elements of the story didn’t really seem to work for me. Much like From Dusk Till Dawn, this movie plays out like two different films in one, combining a crime drama and horrific supernatural phenomena. From Dusk Till Dawn works for me as it feels more organic, but Mujer Conejo comes across more fantastical and hallucinogenic in its animation sequences. I had trouble marrying the two different styles for the story, but from a visually stylistic perspective, found the experience fascinating and bold.