“PVC-1″ opens on a family of bandits as they raid another family’s home in search of their hidden money. During the armed burglary they clamp a strange device onto the neck of the mother. The device is a type of homemade bomb that will explode if it is removed. They leave as quickly as the come, and the movie picks up from there.

While the handheld nature of this movie can feel tedious and amatuer, the charm of this film lies in its simplicity. The movie is filmed in one un-broken take with no cutaways, fades, or other transitions. The drama and suspense of this foreign subtitled flick is told in real-time (89 minutes). The director of this movie, Spiros Stathoulopoulos claims at the head of the film that this movie was based on a true story that occured back in 2000 in rural Colombia. There is no score or soundtrack to speak of, and it seems that only natural light was used to illuminate the various indoor and outdoor shots. The camera doesn’t try to go in for any artsy or dramatic shots, and sometimes pulls back to really allow the viewer to experience the whole frame.

While the suspense of this story is compelling and the directorial style is unique. There is a hard time relating to and sympathizing with anyone in this story because there is a lack of background to anything. Because we can’t see the “why”, caring about the “who” is difficult. We’re introduced to a few more characters along the way, but they are just as forgettable. The scenes where they are trying to defuse the bomb are interesting, but even more so is the conclusion, which goes a more logical route than a typical film. Based just on the ending shot, with the chaos and the distraught family, I’ll say that the payoff is worth the wait. The fact that the ending happened the way it did makes this a film to see, not the characters.