"Hot Milk" follows Sofia and her mother, Rose, as they travel to Almería, Spain, hoping to cure an illness that’s left her mother in a wheelchair. Along the way, they meet the mysterious shaman Dr. Gomez and his daughter, and Sofia also crosses paths with Ingrid, an enigmatic traveler who ends up changing how she sees herself and her life so far. Honestly, I was confused for most of the movie about where it was actually going. None of the characters are particularly likable, not even Sofia, but I kind of get why. She’s the only child of a deeply messy, dishonest parents, and if I were in her place, I’d be just as stressed. Emma Mackey does a really solid job portraying that constant pressure. Her performance is restrained, but you can feel how much pain Sofia is carrying at all times. The story itself is quietly heartbreaking. It starts off feeling like a family drama, then slowly shifts into a coming-of-age story that never fully stands on its own, but sort of awkwardly stitches itself together anyway. That fragility might work for some people, but for me it added to the confusion overall. The ending didn’t work for me at all. I didn’t like how it started, I didn’t like how it ended, but I did enjoy the middle. The setting is gorgeous (it was actually filmed in Greece), and the Greek influences add a lot to the atmosphere, even if the story itself is pretty strange. Emma Mackey is the best here. Her performance really lingered with me, which is a big deal. Even if the film didn’t fully work, she definitely did. And seriously… what does hot milk even have to do with the title when all that woman ever asks for is water??? 🙄🥛