Some movies are easily sellable, with approachable premises such as “a theme park with dinosaurs” or “pirates on an adventure.” The premise of “Vulcanizadora” is hard to put into words, because the film shines with how it makes the audience feel.
“Vulcanizadora” follows two strange men deep into the forests of Michigan where they aim to carry out a vague ritual. The first half of the film charts their journey, chock-full of intentionally awkward humor and distant, sometimes indistinct cinematography. Several scenes follow the mundane conversations between the two characters, which is how the film sets its odd tone. The chatterbox Derek yammers on and on while saying very little of substance. His word salad is set against the stone-faced Marty, a mysterious man who seems intent on arriving at an unspecified location. As this dynamic perpetuates, their mental health issues slowly become more apparent.
The way that “Vulcanizadora” depicts the shattered minds of its protagonists is surprisingly realistic. While some moments of the film feel as though they take place in a heightened reality unconcerned with representing the real world’s technical functions, the interactions between characters always feel like the camera is intruding on an uncomfortable conversation between two real people. The production design, costuming, makeup and hairstyling all feel natural, in that they are minimal. Many audience members in my theater seemed to find the long, obstructed shots of Derek rambling to Marty miserable because it felt like watching real people having what appears to be a meaningless experience.
Much like many life experiences, what seems mundane on the surface of “Vulcanizadora” is actually packed with dense, repressed emotion. Both protagonists allude to but never choose to detail traumatic experiences in their past where the entire world turned on them. The mystery and deep sadness behind these two men creates an odd energy that carries through the film. Their misfortunate circumstances build until the audience goes from being annoyed by them to sympathetic. This is important because the film’s trajectory radically changes pretty far into the runtime. The drastic twist avoids feeling disjointed thanks to the consistent and solid tone.
In that way it is more important for a film like “Vulcanizadora” to maintain a strong tone than other movies. Such a powerful twist and a heavy reliance on scenes of dialogue require the film to have an appealing aura, and “Vulcanizadora” does.
Down two theaters and about 30 movies, viewers may assume that the 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival would be weaker this year, and they would be wrong. This year I saw seven films, each ripe for discussion regarding a different element of filmmaking. To analyze each film’s strength I will offer seven separate analyses.
(Image courtesy of Milwaukee Film.)
The West Bend Current 
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