Set in two very different locations, “ Moon ,” the second film from Iraqi-born Austrian filmmaker Kurdwin Ayub (following “Sun”) follows a mixed martial arts fighter who has reached the end of her competitive career. With limited opportunities in her small Austrian town, she accepts a temporary job training the daughters of an extremely wealthy, yet mysterious Jordanian family. While the frequent ellipses might frustrate some viewers, others will be drawn to Ayub's distinctive style and the way she subverts expectations. The film won a special jury prize in Locarno competition and recognition from independent film critics, and is likely to be featured at more festivals.

After her last go-round in the MMA cage leaves her sorely beaten and defeated, Sarah (Florentina Holzinger) falls into a depression. Previously, she lived to train and compete, but now she has a hard time figuring out her next step.

Sarah starts teaching at a local gym; however, her program is too intense for the amateurs whose main goal is to look cool in boxing gloves. Her wealthy older sister Bea (Tanya Ivankovic), a new mother, encourages her to create a business plan; but instead, Sarah accepts a job offer from a sophisticated Arab businessman, Abdul (Omar Almajali), which whisks her away from her current troubles into the patriarchal world of Middle Eastern mega-wealth. This new environment brings its own set of challenges, especially for unmarried young women.

It quickly becomes clear that Sarah neglected to research the country, its customs, and the family she is working for. Driven each day to a grand yet isolated villa on the outskirts of Amman, she finds the three Al Farahadi sisters she's supposed to train to be oddly listless. Nour (Andria Tayeh), Shaima (Nagham Abu Baker), and Fatima (Celina Antwan) never leave home except for bodyguard-accompanied trips to the mall. And they don’t even have wi-fi. Home-schooled, pampered by maids, and under constant surveillance, they have little to occupy themselves with other than applying makeup, watching soap operas, or performing their prayers.

By the time Sarah starts asking questions –— of the girls themselves and of the bar staff at her luxurious hotel — the seemingly minor unexplained incidents she had been pondering evolve into something more tragic.

Some parts of the film feel a bit awkward, especially the fact that Sarah repeatedly wanders upstairs to the off-limits section of the villa, despite the anxiety it causes and the menacing looks she receives from the Al Farahadi manager (Amar Odeh). However, the relationship between the sisters and their interactions with Sarah feel authentic. The film’s only humorous moment occurs when Fatima, obsessed with makeup, tries to use Sarah like a living doll.

Confinement, regardless of its location, forms the central theme of Ayub's screenplay. She explores the physical and metaphorical boundaries a person might want to escape and the ones they might wish to return to.

As Sarah, who is physically strong but not particularly empathetic, first-time film actor Holzinger (known for her choreography and performance art) embodies a foreigner feeling out of her depth. The Jordanian female cast delivers heartbreaking performances. The naturalistic camerawork of DoP Klemens Hufnagl (who shot Sudabeh Mortezai’s “Joy” and “Europa”) keeps a tight focus on Sarah and highlights the visual contrast between Austria and Jordan.