A YARD OF JACKALS (Patio de Chacales) (Chile 2024) ***1/2
Directed by Diego Figueroa
A YARD OF JACKALS is a claustrophobic Kafkaesque political thriller in every sense of the word, reminiscent of the recent TWO PROSECUTORS.
It is the winter of 1978, under Chile’s military regime in Santiago. Raúl Peralta, a lonely architectural model maker, lives a quiet life with only his ailing mother and a pet canary for company. His routine is upended by the arrival of new neighbours whose sinister activities seem to hide dark secrets. Desperately clinging to the last remnants of his sanity, Raúl’s life increasingly intertwines with Guillermo, a mysterious man in dark glasses. As reality unravels, the echoes of Raúl’s past collide with the horrors of his present in a psychological thriller that leaves behind a deep, indelible scar.
The film has an authentic feel throughout, for the director Diego Figueroa did a lot of research on such cases during his studies years earlier.
The genesis of the film began back in 2014 when \the director was working on my thesis project for the Film and Television program at the University of Chile. During an in-depth investigation into the dictatorship’s repressive forces and their relationship with civil society, he came across a series of studies on private homes that had been used as clandestine centres for detention, torture, and, in some cases, extermination. This led me to conduct further research into some of these well-known locations and connect with investigative authors like Javier Rebolledo, whose research into the civilian aspect of the dictatorship and its connections resulted in his book trilogyLos Cuervos.
It turns out the neighbours are secret police agents linked to the dictatorship, and the sounds coming through the walls are interrogations and torture of political prisoners.
As Raúl listens through a stethoscope-type instrument, he becomes aware of this as he hears loud music covering screams of confession under torture. He is drawn into a nightmarish moral situation. His attempts to report or intervene are ignored—or dangerous. He tries to contact through a radio station. He becomes psychologically unravelled, haunted by what he hears but powerless to stop it. To add to the anxiety, Ray is disabled and suffers from some foreign object inns le. But he has a girlfriend who cares, but he cannot reciprocate.
The life and paranoia are effectively created and felt throughout the entire movie, a lowborn in which one can feel the heat of the burn.
One can feel and root for Raul, but things do not look too good for him. His girlfriend escapes to Paris. The film offers Raul a route of escape when his a=bedridden mother passes away, the excuse he always gives for not going out.
One can feel and root for Raul, but things do not look too good for him. His girlfriend escapes to Paris. The film offers Raul a route of escape when his bedridden mother passes away, the excuse he always gives for not going out. The only solace is his girlfriend who takes a liking to him.
The film has an ending (not to be revealed in this review) that is quite ambiguous and disturbing. The audience might not like the ambiguity, but the disturbing factor is expected.
A YARD OF JACKALS premieres exclusively on IndiePix Unlimited on May 8th, 2026.
Trailer:
