Ihesa
2016 · 15m · España
Directed by Alejandro Díaz Castaño
Tones: contemplative, tense
When Maitane tells her husband Iosu that there is a leak in their kitchen coming from the flat above, he goes upstairs to raise the matter with the neighbours. The visit brings him unexpected surprises.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A kitchen leak that isn't really about water damage—the premise promises subversion but plays it fairly straight, which is the actual surprise here; Díaz Castaño's restraint is almost antagonistic to the plot twist you're bracing for.
Formally precise in its misdirection, situating domestic unease within a lineage of Spanish chamber dramas that prize what's *not* said; the spatial economy of moving between flats becomes a compositional argument about proximity and secrets.
The entire film pivots on Iosu's reaction when he reaches the upstairs door—a single moment of recognition, barely inflected, that recontextualizes everything you thought you were watching, done with next to nothing.