MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND is a creepy and tuned-in allegorical suspense thriller. From profound observations of the economic migrant experience, from being “tired of the possibilities”, when you are unlucky to be good-looking in case New York “eats you”. We follow Luciana (the stupidly talented Ana Asensio, who also writes and directs) on the worst working day of her life. She goes straight from dressing as a chicken to hand out flyers to babysitting a pair spoilt brats from hell to finally accepting an invitation to be a “pretty girl” at a seedy party in Chinatown (the kind of party accessible by goods cellar). Her journey throws up more and more warning signs, but Luciana continues for the promise of an easy $2000. The film’s final sequence is far stranger, and in a way less horrific than you might expect, but as a metaphor for what so many women like Luciana must go through when they arrive in the USA, it’s pretty powerful. SSP