TIFF Review: Barrio Triste is Among the Year's Most Impressive Debuts

      At just two years old, Harmony Korine's "post-cinema" venture EDGLRD is already expanding. Following his work on AGGRO DR1FT and Baby Invasion, Korine steps into a producer role for Barrio Triste, the feature debut of Colombian-American artist Stillz. This collaboration suits them well, considering Stillz’s history as a music video director for artists like Bad Bunny and Rosalia. While Barrio Triste adopts a vibe-centered approach reminiscent of Korine’s previous films, it stands apart in its unique identity. Exciting, tense, intimate, and mysterious, Barrio Triste offers a fascinating glimpse into a lost generation seeking redemption, making it one of the year's standout first features.

      The film, named after a struggling Medellín neighborhood linked to addiction and drug violence, presents itself as a found-footage piece set in the late 1980s. It begins with a news anchor discussing reports of unusual lights and sounds in the area when a gang of four teenage boys interrupts and steals the camera. From that moment onward, the film is in their hands as they use it to document their daily lives, including violent acts such as a jewelry store robbery that spirals out of control when one of them becomes overly eager to use a gun.

      The robbery scene, one of several memorable moments, quickly sets the tone for the brutal and violent world these characters navigate. Filmed in one extended take, it opens with the gang recording themselves in a car en route to the store. They remain silent and unfazed as the radio airs a call-in show featuring a man who claims to be a serial killer targeting local prostitutes. The hosts attempt to delve into the killer’s psyche by discussing his childhood, but to no avail (the caller eventually confesses he’s high), while Arca's unsettling score heightens the tension, culminating in an explosive crescendo of noise as the boys enter the store.

      Once the chaotic scene concludes abruptly, Stillz shifts direction entirely, moving from a jarring style to a more immersive one. After returning home, the camera subtly explores the streets and buildings, capturing various activities: children watching static on a television, a punk band practicing, a mother voicing her worries about her son getting into trouble. Surreal images occasionally punctuate the narrative, like the cameraman opening a door to find a horse. This observational method allows Barrio Triste to adopt a more measured pace than the earlier fast-paced segments, yet the film retains unpredictability. Stillz’s portrayal of the barrio’s paths and alleyways comes from a place of warmth, hinting at the rich array of perspectives and experiences waiting to be discovered.

      Moreover, Stillz applies this sensitivity to his characters, a luxury they cannot afford given their marginalized lives. The film intermittently cuts to intimate interviews with group members, who confront the camera as they discuss their aspirations, future aspirations, or feelings about mortality; at one moment, someone breaks down, yearning for the love their parents failed to offer. These segments intentionally disrupt the film’s internal rhythms—lacking context—but outside these moments, the characters have few chances to express vulnerability. “Maybe our memories will survive,” one states to the camera, lamenting their acceptance of never attaining the life they desired.

      As the focus gradually returns to the gang, who begin their nighttime revelry by vandalizing and igniting a car, Stillz intensifies the extremes within the film. Amidst the violence and vulnerability, chaos and calm—further heightened by Arca’s superb soundtrack—Barrio Triste ventures into the spiritual realm in its final act, evoking themes of heaven and hell through cryptic visuals and horror elements. If the only possible outcomes are salvation or damnation, then Barrio Triste embodies the limbo in which these youths exist, a place overlooking a city they will always find themselves on the outskirts of.

      Barrio Triste was screened at TIFF 2025.