In Vietnamese director Lê Bảo’s new film, an extended family confronts various rifts and estrangements in its ranks; years of silence must give way, slowly and haltingly, to communication. That the film is called “Hearing” might sound awfully pat, but nothing is so obvious in this sensuous, intuitive mood piece, which consistently surprises with its spare, searching narrative and radically layered technique. In his second feature — following 2021’s highly accomplished “Taste,” which won a jury prize in Berlin’s former Encounters competition — Lê continues to invite comparisons with rigorously experimental formalists like Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Pedro Costa, while cutting a path between closely observed domestic drama and freely ambient surrealism that feels his own.
Premiering in the main competition at Locarno, this is challenging arthouse fare of the type that may need continued festival exposure and accolades to persuade distributors to take a chance on it. “Hearing” could have an easier route to specialist streaming platforms, though its exquisite technical qualities — in particular, Vincent Villa’s intricate sound design — are best showcased in theaters. Singapore production company E&W Films’ recent credits include Cannes selections “Viet and Nam” and “9 Temples to Heaven,” which is a fair indication of the new film’s woozy, hypnotic slow-cinema lane.
