Some people don’t do well with change. Jens and Maria are exactly those people. Resin is a Danish thriller about a small family’s desperate attempt to maintain their way of life (and their big secret) without drawing the attention of a nearby village. The film finds its footing in time, but early on it feels more like a series of loosely connected vignettes. The family’s beliefs are mostly explained in voiceover, often paired with scenery footage or close ups of nature. It’s framed beautifully and layered in visual metaphor. However, it is maybe too interested in exploring those metaphors and softly asking questions than in giving any opinions or answers. It plays like a fable with the moral obscured, an intellectual exercise that is rewarding, but may not be what everyone is looking for.
Resin was screened as part of TIFF ’19