The Hole in the Fence

Del Paso formulates an intellectually rich critique on a thorny subject for a country still reluctant to face its entrenched moral vices.

There’s a nagging sense of being fed a thesis, like the filmmakers started with a polemical endpoint and then reverse-engineered a film, but there’s no denying that The Hole is visceral enough to leave an impression in either case.

No matter how vicious you might assume the metaphor for [white supremacy within] contemporary Mexican society Joaquin del Paso's THE HOLE IN THE FENCE will get, he and co-writer Lucy Pawlak can always take things further.

The Hole in the Fence gives us a perfect pastoral scene in which a group of boys become trained in the kind of brainwashing and lawlessness that is supported by those in power.

... powerful and unsettling, with an air of unease that soaks the entire film in dread.

Resistance is futile&#59; the wicked shall rule.

Director del Paso was making a statement about Mexico’s heirarchy, the Catholic faith that rewards the rich by keeping the poor meek. But this story could be set in many places at this point in time.

[Del Paso] maximizes his main location, a place in the middle of the forest, filmed with an atmosphere that suddenly recharges with psychological terror... [Full review in Spanish]

Lacks a dramatic anchor to bond with the audience despite some unsettling dramatic flashes and tensions. [Full review in Spanish]

Del Paso reinforces his ability to portray chaos, and through its montage, have fear and indignation invade us. [Full review in Spanish]