Engaging, yet tantalizingly withholding, the contemporary drama “Drowning Dry” offers a nonlinear portrait of two sisters, their marriages and children while depicting a family tragedy during a summer holiday. As it unfolds in a kaleidoscopic manner, the narrative snaps into sharpest focus just as the film ends. It’s the sophomore feature of Lithuanian multi-hyphenate Laurynas Bareiša, who claimed the 2021 Venice Horizons prize for his feature debut “Pilgrims,” which boasts similarly fragmented storytelling.

Here serving as his own Dp, Bareiša employs a spare, closely observed shooting style that favors fixed-angle long takes in which the characters bustle in and out of the frame, as well as shots with mirrors that disorient the viewer. Winner of the best director prize for Bareiša in Locarno and a best performance award for the ensemble, the film was subsequently selected to represent Lithuania at the Academy Awards. Although it won’t be to all tastes,...