‘Cocote’ Trailer: An Intense, Rapturous Look At The New Dominican Crime Drama

Back in April, we had the opportunity to attend the New Directors/ New Films Film Festival. What we were treated to was an intense examination of revenge. “Cocote,” directed by Dominican filmmaker Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias delivers, what our own Bradley Warren called, “an entirely different beast—a challenging watch that swings from the avant-garde to an ethnographic model of filmmaking.” You can read our review here. Now, the team behind “Cocote” has officially released a trailer that absorbs you, much like the film itself.

“Cocote” is an unsettling and visceral look at revenge. With intrusive camera work provided by Roman Kasseroller, the Nelson Carol De Los Santos Arias’ feature is an instinctive examination of the ways we are pushed to our limits. It wavers between worlds and challenges the constructs of moral codes.

The film has been received with positive reviews at multiple festivals. At the Mar Del Plata Film Festival, the feature was awarded Best Latin-American Film. From here, the film awaits an official opening this summer.

“Cocote” opens July 27 at New York’s IFC Center, ahead of a national rollout.

Here’s the trailer and official synopsis:

A rapturous crime fable set in the Dominican Republic, Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias’ Cocote follows Alberto, a kind-hearted gardener returning home to attend his father’s funeral. When he discovers that a powerful local figure is responsible for his father’s death, Alberto realizes that he’s been summoned by his family to avenge the murder. It’s an unthinkable act — especially for him, an Evangelical Christian. But as pressure mounts, he sees few ways out. Questions of faith, tradition and honor course through this electrifying film, which, seemingly at the speed of thought itself, jumps between film formats, colors, and aspect ratios, radically envisioning a community torn asunder by senseless violence.