We Have Never Been Modern

A period piece that is unexpectedly contemporary, a suspenseful film that simultaneously waves a queer and feminist flag, We Have never been Modern exceeds every expectation with its unique directorial approach. Set in 1937 in a town in Eastern Europe - built on the outskirts of a factory and aspiring to become a model of a modern metropolis - the film follows the wife of the director who is confronted with a mystery that no one wants to solve: The lifeless body of an intersex infant is discovered buried in a mound of sand, compelling everyone to confront their own self-judgment and biases. Drawing its title from the book by French anthropologist Bruno Latour, who challenges whether progress alone can sever the ties that bind modern humans to their primitive nature, Matěj Chlupáček’s film reintroduces these questions to today's audience in a genuinely cinematic manner, underscoring their relevance in the present time even more so than in the era the film portrays.