Evströnger
2018 · 3m · España
Directed by Silvia Conesa
Tones: absurdist, darkly comic
Marta and David, a politically committed, somewhat anti-capitalist couple, try to do things properly and live consistently with their principles, like everybody else.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Finally, a film that actually *believes* in the absurdity of principled living rather than just winking at it—Conesa strips the performance of moral consistency down to its most ridiculous skeleton and doesn't blink. Most shorts would sand off the edges to make it palatable; this one gets sharper.
The satire operates with a formal precision that recalls the European tradition of Buñuel and Tati, where the comedy emerges from deadpan observance of social contradiction rather than setup-punchline mechanics; the editing restraint is what makes the premise land.
The genius move is committing entirely to the couple's flat, almost robotic sincerity—that tonal choice, held across three minutes without ironic escape, is what transforms what could've been shallow commentary into something genuinely unsettling and funny.