9 Steps (2018)

Yikes, but this is so not what I was expecting. Remember when you were young and afraid of the dark? Well that's the problem facing young "Saul" (Pablo Muñoz) as he habitually wakes up at night but won't walk to the toilet without his dad (Jordi Ballester). The adult is getting just a bit fed up with this and is trying to coax the lad to do it himself. In the end, he resorts to trying to set an example demonstrating it's only nine steps. Well nine dad-size steps. "Saul" summons up all his courage and sets off on what is his most epic journey to date, and then something entirely unexpected happens. I really liked the way this has been put together, and the effort from the young Muñoz is really quite enthralling as his terror becomes palpable for us to watch. Ballester also manages to convey the attitude of the loving but sleep-deprived papa well and what we think is just part of normal growing up becomes... It's well worth a few minutes, this film.