Do Re Mi Fa

Malta. Dir. Chris Zarb, 2016, 143 mins. With Paul Flanagan, Irene Christ, Sean O’Neil, Marc Cabourdin. In English and Maltese with English subtitles. Four people, four explosive tales of life in contemporary Malta: a birthday party clown struggles to keep his pedophilic urges in check; a depressed actress contemplates an act of unthinkable violence; an American radio DJ finds himself at the center of a firestorm when he speaks out for immigrant rights; and a husband and father buckles under the weight of stress at home and work. As their lives cross paths, each hurtles towards a moment of reckoning. This all-too-rare example of Maltese cinema tackles a host of hot-button issues—from the refugee crisis to mental illness—with a mix of dark surrealism and unflinching candor.