Omen offers a lot if you let it. Baloji brings a consistent care and engagement in his framework and direction that draws you in, even when you may be sort of circling around what exactly is this story trying to tell me. Because there are threads that unfurl hither and yon. At its heart there resonates a struggle in familial indentities that I presume most viewers can or may in one way or another draw parallels to their own lives. We all come from somewhere, and who we become and how can matter. Beyond the story the rich visuals ground the screen whether kinetic street theater in rhythmic brass and drums, pseudo wrestling or quiet family dinner table convo. Other sequences bring a lure of color, light and curiosity if it is a dream sequence, a memory or ? In the end Baloji transports us to places at once foreign and familiar with quiet confidence and engaging choices.
Review of Omen
