CIFF 2025 Reviews: Spilt Milk, Belén
Below are capsule reviews of two films from the Snapshot category at the 2025 Chicago International Film Festival. The Snapshot category aims to showcase diversity in contemporary cinema.
The first film I want to look at is Spilt Milk, a stirring family drama set in 1980s Ireland. The film follows Bobby O’Brien (Cillian Sullivan), an 11-year-old boy obsessed with TV detective Kojak. Bobby is always trying to solve small cases for his schoolmates when things go missing, so much so that he tries to start a detective agency with his friend Nell (Naoise Kelly). When Bobby’s older brother John (Laurence O’Fuarain) leaves the house one day and doesn’t come back, Bobby is on the case, which takes him to a dark part of his neighborhood and his family he didn’t know existed.
The idea of a Kojak-loving Irish boy solving small mysteries in his town sounds like it would lean more on the easy side of watching. But that’s not the case with Spilt Milk. Director Brian Durnin crafted a heartfelt coming-of-age story told through Bobby’s eyes. Sullivan is spectacular, and Kelly gives an energetic performance as two children who start to see their world in a completely different way as they explore their neighborhood’s dark underbelly, which has you genuinely worried about their well-being. The movie is deeply rooted in Irish history. It shows us the tough environment of a working-class family in 1984 Dublin, when the heroin epidemic was on the rise, and citizens struggled to make ends meet due to a recession. Durnin brilliantly seeps us into the era, with stunning production design and costumes.
Through it all, Spilt Milk is a film about family, forgiveness, and never giving up. It’s a tough watch at times, but the performances and insight into the era keep it compelling from start to finish.
The next film is Dolores Fonzi’s Belén, a powerful true story set in Argentina. The film opens with a harrowing scene of tragedy and intensity, as we watch Julieta (Camila Pláate) enter a hospital with a horrible stomach pain, which turns into a miscarriage despite not knowing she was pregnant, and then being arrested by police for infanticide. It is a striking opening sequence that sets the stage for the rest of the movie.
Fonzi also stars in the film as Soledad Deza, a lawyer who takes on Julieta’s controversial case after she was sentenced to eight years in prison due to poor effort from her public attorney. Deza files for an appeal and fights a corrupt justice system and a conservative nation to try and free Julieta.
Belén tells an important story that can resonate worldwide. Not only is the film about standing up to conservative leaders and fighting for women’s rights, but it is also a story of resilience and bonding. As Deza delves deeper into the case, she and her team gain a following of people supporting Julieta, culminating in enough people to host a peaceful but powerful protest. But as the case gets bigger, threats to her, her family, and her team become more frequent, which ratchets up the tension, especially as she gets closer to discovering the truth. Fonzi’s performance as Deza is excellent, exuding power and determination, and Pláate gives a heartbreaking turn as an innocent woman found guilty by a corrupt system and incompetence.
Belén is an inspiring and gripping procedural. It’s a stellar courtroom drama that shows a hard-nosed attorney working tirelessly to free her client while also showing the power of womanhood and standing up to an unjust system.
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