Parents' Guide to

Blood Will Tell

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Dark family thriller has cursing and violence.

Movie NR 2019 113 minutes
Blood Will Tell Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Blood Will Tell Movie: Scene #1
  • Blood Will Tell Movie: Scene #2
  • Blood Will Tell Movie: Scene #3

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What's the Story?

BLOOD WILL TELL opens with an unfortunate accidental death of a farm owner. This sets up a family history of repeating difficult family relationships underlying the story. The man's son, Elias (Oscar Martinez), who inherited his father's farm, is in jeopardy of losing it to the bank. Elias' wife, Adriana (Paulina Garcia), who runs a successful catering operation out of their large home, refuses to lend him money to bail him out. She announces that this foul-up is just one more of many and she won't pretend to care about him anymore for the sake of their grown children. She launches into epithets and promises to see a divorce lawyer the next day so she can be with the family friend who has been her longtime lover, Lautaro (Luis Gnecco). Since the plot moves back and forth in time, we know none of this when we first learn that Adriana has died in a freak accident involving her electric mixer. The plot moves forward, then backs up to recall the same incidents from different characters' points of view, adding new information and context for understanding events along the way. Elias' son-in-law, Santiago (Diego Velazquez), suspects foul play, conveying his worries to his wife and Elias' daughter, Carla (Dolores Fonzi). Carla, still mourning her mother, is furious at her husband's suspicions, but is given reason to wonder about her father when the mother's boyfriend turns up dead and Elias is found lying by the body, bleeding profusely.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This film is a solid look at everyday, ordinary evil. Blood Will Tell effectively plots the road down which seemingly decent people are willing to go when money troubles or other issues stress their usual equilibrium. The movie poses many moral dilemmas. What obligation do we have to help when we see someone in need? Are we implicated if we do nothing? What do long-married people owe each other, if anything? What loyalty do children owe parents if the parents are terrible people? Teens will have much to talk about if they take an interest in the difficulties of the middle-aged couple at the heart of this story.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how difficult it can be to believe the worst about people we love. Is it possible to ever really know someone?

  • Do you think each of us is capable of doing something terrible under duress? Or do you think good people will still do the right thing even when tested?

  • Does the retelling the story from different points of view add to the quality of Blood Will Tell, or do you think a straightforward narrative would've been more effective?

Movie Details

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