THE MELTDOWN (Cannes 2026) – Review by Diane Carson
Writer/director Manuela Martelli’s Meltdown/El Deshielo is set in an isolated Andean ski resort hotel in 1992. Despite its focused, personal story seen through the eyes of nine-year-old Inés (Maya O’Rourke), parallels to Chilean political tragedies are transparent. The more one knows about Chile’s turbulent 1990s period, the better one grasps the multifaceted complexity of ideas. Nevertheless, on its own, The Meltdown offers an engaging story of needy Inés and the impact when her German friend, fifteen-year-old skiing superstar Hanna (Maia Rae Domagala), suddenly disappears.
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