A dementia patient's carer with a secret in her past discovers she's not the only one.

Solemn and subtle story of the consequences of abuse. The key to it is literally a key, but also repressed words, which the patient states early on in one of her lucid moments and which is suggested by the cover of a videotape with three monkeys. There is a supernatural element, but this is not a horror - more a psychic working out of the harm caused to everyone in this isolated house.

The performances are good and restrained, the camera work mostly interesting with plenty of close-ups, and the editing keeps up a good pace for such a low key story. The standout for me is the music and sound design, which generate an eerie atmosphere and add another dimension through mysterious broken messages. The special effects are basic, intended only to put some flesh on the awful secrets that haunt these two generations of victims.

The only drawback was the plausibility of the presence of the teenage boy - might have been better to introduce him along with the patient's daughter - "I drove him down only because he can help you with my mother" - which would also have provided a triggering event to give the story propulsion.

Overall: a fine treatment of a nasty predicament.

I stumbled upon the 2020 drama "Sanzaru" here in 2021, by random chance. And with it being a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I took the time to sit down and watch it. So I wasn't sure what I was in for here from writer and director Xia Magnus.

The storyline told in "Sanzaru" was odd. Definitely somewhat of a strange story told here, and I have to admit that I wasn't really sure that I fully grasped what was actually going on at all times throughout the course of the movie. So writer and director Xia Magnus wasn't really delivering something that just landed in my lap.

While the movie was watchable, I found the the narrative to be somewhat of a swing and a miss, as some things made little sense, and other things just had me baffled and not knowing what was going on at all. And the pacing of the movie is somewhat slow paced.

I will say, though, that the acting performances in the movie were good, especially Aina Dumlao, in the lead part, she really performed quite well.

"Sanzaru" is somewhat of an acquired taste, but I am sure that there is an audience out there for a movie such as what writer and director Xia Magnus delivered with "Sanzaru".

My rating of "Sanzaru" lands on a less than mediocre four out of ten stars. It is Aina Dumlao that lifts up the movie, because the storyline and the confusing narrative serves as an anchor around the movie.

Just a perfect, modestly eerie, moody piece that deserves the right to have an open ending. Great music too. Could place it on the scene but would rather not spoil the trip by referencing.