Unrest

Set in the 19th century, in a watchmaking town in the Swiss Alps, Unrest depicts a group of anarchist watch industry workers. Through them, filmmaker Cyril Schäublin manages to give shape to a fable about class struggle in the heart of Europe with the Industrial Revolution at its peak. As in Those Who Are Fine, his 2017 debut, which was a sharp look at the capitalist system, Schäublin uses the power of film as a magnifying glass on reality. Going after that objective, he also manages to make the most of the tools of fiction. Contrary to documentary cinema’s direct gaze, they tackle the real object obliquely, giving the director enough freedom to go beyond the rigid limits of strictly historical storytelling.