Family Instinct

Riding a razor edge between exploitation and art, Family Instinct is the documentary that Harmony Korine wishes he’d made. The set-up is unsettling enough – a woman waits for her brother to be released from prison, unsure if he will return home to attack her and their two children. Mix in an unforgettably motley assortment of neighbors and tenants, most drunk or high throughout the film, and you have the makings of a documentary cult classic. But what consistently elevates Family Instinct is the extraordinary sound and camera work – this is a work as aesthetically virtuosic as the narrative is debased. Sure to be one of the most talked about films of the fest, Family Instinct may disgust you, but you won’t be able to look away. –SXSW