One & Two (2015) - Andrew Droz Palermo

Andrew Droz Palermo's One & Two is an extremely well-crafted indie sci-fi picture which uses impressive cinematography and brooding atmosphere to tell its tale.  One & Two is a story that is ambiguous to a fault, telling the story of two siblings in Zac and Eva, who live with their parents in a secluded farmhouse.  Living a lifestyle which finds them living off the land with no technological comforts such as electricity, a rift in the family begins to develop when the wife and mother of the household becomes very sick.  You see, this isn't your typical family, as Eva and Zac have supernatural abilities based around teleportation, something which leaves their father fearful of something he simply doesn't understand.  At its core, One & Two is a film about the bond of siblings, using a supernatural story of two teenagers being oppressed by their fear-riddled father as an allegory for the importance of love in times of duress.  The father character is perhaps where the film succeeds the most at being more than just an effectively made, beguiling piece of filmmaking, as this character perfectly personifies the notion of humanity fearing anything it doesn't wholly-fully understand.  The father as a character can't decide whether his children are a "gift from god for humanity" or "something which goes against God's design", and one of One & Two's best thematic attributes is the way it captures how the father's fear ends up leading him down a path of violence and destruction.  While the story itself is solid, albeit purposely elliptical, One & Two is a visual feast, featuring beautiful cinematography and lighting that creates a brooding contrast between darkness and light.  Creating an atmosphere that is meditative and oddly transfixing, Andrew Droz Palermo's One & Two overcomes its narrative shortcomings and intentionally vague setting thanks in large part to its artistic design. 

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