Sundance review: 'Il Futuro (The Future)'

"Il Futuro (The Future)"World Cinema Documentary CompetitionGrade: two out of four starsChilean director and screenwriter Alicia Scherson's third film chronicles the struggles of Bianca, a young woman left orphaned in Rome after her parents die in an auto accident. Entrusted with caring for her directionless brother Tomas, she is convinced to engage in a get-rich scheme by some of Tomas' shady friends: initiate trust between her and a blind former Mr. Universe and film star Maciste, played by Rutger Hauer. Once that trust is established, she must rob Maciste, a largely defenseless hermit inside his rococo mansion. The relationship between Bianca (played by Manuela Martelli) and Maciste never becomes believable, and their interactions between one another seem forced and awkward as she becomes little more than a vacant sexual victim to his base desires. The film portrays itself as Bianca's journey of self-discovery, but she never becomes a fleshed-out character whose motivations are clear; instead, it is a frustrating path that never goes anywhere because we aren't clear who Bianca is in the first place.— David BurgerLast screening: Friday, Jan. 25 at 4 p.m. at Holiday Village Cinemas, Park City.