With human justice absent in the awful political bloodshed in Central America, Guatemalan director Jayro Bustamente finds payback in cinematic fantasy. A crooked government exonerates a genocidal general, but his estate is besieged around the clock by Mayan-Ixil Indio protesters. Into the house comes a new maid — a tiny young woman who may nevertheless wield supernatural powers. The moody art-horror show is as delicate as The Innocents or a Val Lewton chiller — horror once again becomes an excellent means to address political evil. Slow and deliberate, it reverberates with horror history without copying the classics.
La Llorona (2019)
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1156
2019 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 96 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 18, 2022 / 39.95
Starring: María Mercedes Coroy, Sabrina De La Hoz, Margarita Kenéfic, Julio Diaz, María Telón, Juan Pablo Olyslager, Ayla-Elea Hurtado.
Cinematography: Nicolás Wong
Production Designer: Sebastián Muñoz
Costume Design: Beatriz Lantán
Film Editors: Jayro Bustamante, Gustavo Matheu
Original...
La Llorona (2019)
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1156
2019 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 96 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 18, 2022 / 39.95
Starring: María Mercedes Coroy, Sabrina De La Hoz, Margarita Kenéfic, Julio Diaz, María Telón, Juan Pablo Olyslager, Ayla-Elea Hurtado.
Cinematography: Nicolás Wong
Production Designer: Sebastián Muñoz
Costume Design: Beatriz Lantán
Film Editors: Jayro Bustamante, Gustavo Matheu
Original...
- 10/22/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The film is directed by Costa Rica’s Ariel Escalanta Meza.
Berlin-based Films Boutique has made a significant early sale on Ariel Escalante Meza’s Un Certain Regard title Domingo And The Mist to Epicentre in France.
“It’s exciting to have a French distributor on board ahead of the market, as it is also reassuring to be working again with our long-term partners at Epicentre Film,” said Films Boutique CEO Jean-Christophe Simon.
Costa Rican director Meza is a Berlinale Talents alumnus and recipient of the National Prize for the Arts from Costa Rica’s Ministry of Culture in 2018. A renowne deditor,...
Berlin-based Films Boutique has made a significant early sale on Ariel Escalante Meza’s Un Certain Regard title Domingo And The Mist to Epicentre in France.
“It’s exciting to have a French distributor on board ahead of the market, as it is also reassuring to be working again with our long-term partners at Epicentre Film,” said Films Boutique CEO Jean-Christophe Simon.
Costa Rican director Meza is a Berlinale Talents alumnus and recipient of the National Prize for the Arts from Costa Rica’s Ministry of Culture in 2018. A renowne deditor,...
- 5/12/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
The film is directed by Costa Rica’s Ariel Escalanta Meza.
Berlin-based Films Boutique has made a significant early sale on Ariel Escalante Meza’s Un Certain Regard title Domingo And The Mist to Epicentre in France.
“It’s exciting to have a French distributor on board ahead of the market, as it is also reassuring to be working again with our long-term partners at Epicentre Film,” said Films Boutique CEO Jean-Christophe Simon.
Costa Rican director Meza is a Berlinale Talents alumnus and recipient of the National Prize for the Arts from Costa Rica’s Ministry of Culture in 2018. A renowne deditor,...
Berlin-based Films Boutique has made a significant early sale on Ariel Escalante Meza’s Un Certain Regard title Domingo And The Mist to Epicentre in France.
“It’s exciting to have a French distributor on board ahead of the market, as it is also reassuring to be working again with our long-term partners at Epicentre Film,” said Films Boutique CEO Jean-Christophe Simon.
Costa Rican director Meza is a Berlinale Talents alumnus and recipient of the National Prize for the Arts from Costa Rica’s Ministry of Culture in 2018. A renowne deditor,...
- 5/12/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Eighth annual celebration of Ibero-American audiovisual industry returned to in-person event in Madrid.
Colombia dominated the Platino Awards – the Ibero-American equivalent of the Oscars – as Memories Of My Father, a drama about a public health activist murdered in the 1980s, took five awards on Sunday night (October 3) while Michel Franco’s New Order emerged empty-handed from the Madrid ceremony.
Memories Of My Father won best film and art direction and earned three awards for Spaniards as Fernando Trueba triumphed in the directing category, his brother David Trueba won for best screenplay and Javier Camara took the best actor prize for...
Colombia dominated the Platino Awards – the Ibero-American equivalent of the Oscars – as Memories Of My Father, a drama about a public health activist murdered in the 1980s, took five awards on Sunday night (October 3) while Michel Franco’s New Order emerged empty-handed from the Madrid ceremony.
Memories Of My Father won best film and art direction and earned three awards for Spaniards as Fernando Trueba triumphed in the directing category, his brother David Trueba won for best screenplay and Javier Camara took the best actor prize for...
- 10/4/2021
- by Elaine Guerini
- ScreenDaily
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has extended invitations for 395 artists and executives working in film to join the ranks of a growing membership of more than 9,000 film industry figures. Per AMPAS, “membership selection decisions are based on professional qualifications, with representation, inclusion and equity remaining a priority of Academy Aperture 2025.”
Statistically, the 2021 class is comprised of 46 percent women, 39 percent underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, and 53 international members from 49 countries outside of the United States. Among the new class are 89 Oscar nominees and 25 winners, including “Minari” Best Supporting Actress winner Yuh-jung Youn, Best Actor nominee Steven Yeun, multi-nominated director/writer Lee Isaac Chung, and co-star Ye-ri Han, plus “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” Best Actress nominee Andra Day, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” Supporting Actress nominee Maria Bakalova, “Pieces of a Woman” Best Actress nominee Vanessa Kirby, and Supporting Actor nominees Leslie Odom Jr. (“One Night in Miami”) and Paul Raci...
Statistically, the 2021 class is comprised of 46 percent women, 39 percent underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, and 53 international members from 49 countries outside of the United States. Among the new class are 89 Oscar nominees and 25 winners, including “Minari” Best Supporting Actress winner Yuh-jung Youn, Best Actor nominee Steven Yeun, multi-nominated director/writer Lee Isaac Chung, and co-star Ye-ri Han, plus “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” Best Actress nominee Andra Day, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” Supporting Actress nominee Maria Bakalova, “Pieces of a Woman” Best Actress nominee Vanessa Kirby, and Supporting Actor nominees Leslie Odom Jr. (“One Night in Miami”) and Paul Raci...
- 7/1/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
This review of “La Llorona” was first published following its premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
For his third and most tonally adventurous feature to date, socially perceptive writer-director Jayro Bustamante repurposes one of Latin America’s most ubiquitous supernatural legends to fiercely examine genocide against indigenous people in his native Guatemala. Invoking genre narrative devices, the entrancingly evocative “La Llorona” (“The Weeping Woman”) walks between fact and myth to engender a shrewdly frightening piece of political horror.
Sadistic military dictator General Enrique Monteverde (Julio Diaz), a fictionalized incarnation of the country’s former president Efraín Ríos Montt, stands accused of sanctioning the murder of thousands of Maya Ixil people in the Central American nation between 1982 and 1983. Battling health complications but still refusing to accept any fault, Monteverde is found guilty thanks to the courageous testimony of Ixil women still mourning their dead. Bustamante shoots the courtroom as a spiritual confessional devoid of natural light.
For his third and most tonally adventurous feature to date, socially perceptive writer-director Jayro Bustamante repurposes one of Latin America’s most ubiquitous supernatural legends to fiercely examine genocide against indigenous people in his native Guatemala. Invoking genre narrative devices, the entrancingly evocative “La Llorona” (“The Weeping Woman”) walks between fact and myth to engender a shrewdly frightening piece of political horror.
Sadistic military dictator General Enrique Monteverde (Julio Diaz), a fictionalized incarnation of the country’s former president Efraín Ríos Montt, stands accused of sanctioning the murder of thousands of Maya Ixil people in the Central American nation between 1982 and 1983. Battling health complications but still refusing to accept any fault, Monteverde is found guilty thanks to the courageous testimony of Ixil women still mourning their dead. Bustamante shoots the courtroom as a spiritual confessional devoid of natural light.
- 3/4/2021
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
Jayro Bustamante on his Oscar shortlisted and Golden Globe nominated La Llorona: “There are a lot of things coming from the classic mythology.”
Jayro Bustamante deftly and imaginatively places his La Llorona (co-written with Lisandro Sanchez) at the intersection of history and legend. The ancient tale of the weeping woman who has haunted Latin American childhoods for centuries, here gains footing in recent Guatemalan history. General Enrique (Julio Diaz), now an old man, is among those on trial for the genocide of thousands. In 1982/83 one third of the Mayan population in Guatemala were exterminated, 38% were children under 12. Enrique’s wife Carmen (Margarita Kenéfic), daughter Natalia (Sabrina De La Hoz), granddaughter Sara (Ayla-Elea Hurtado), and Valeriana (María Telón), the only servant who remains loyal in the house, have to open their eyes to the family legacy.
Jayro Bustamante on Alma (María Mercedes Coroy): “I give to my Llorona that princess aspect,...
Jayro Bustamante deftly and imaginatively places his La Llorona (co-written with Lisandro Sanchez) at the intersection of history and legend. The ancient tale of the weeping woman who has haunted Latin American childhoods for centuries, here gains footing in recent Guatemalan history. General Enrique (Julio Diaz), now an old man, is among those on trial for the genocide of thousands. In 1982/83 one third of the Mayan population in Guatemala were exterminated, 38% were children under 12. Enrique’s wife Carmen (Margarita Kenéfic), daughter Natalia (Sabrina De La Hoz), granddaughter Sara (Ayla-Elea Hurtado), and Valeriana (María Telón), the only servant who remains loyal in the house, have to open their eyes to the family legacy.
Jayro Bustamante on Alma (María Mercedes Coroy): “I give to my Llorona that princess aspect,...
- 2/28/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
“A cinematographer is a visual psychiatrist–moving an audience through a movie […] making them think the way you want them to think, painting pictures in the dark,” said the late, great Gordon Willis. As we continue our year-end coverage, one aspect we must highlight is, indeed, cinematography. From talented newcomers to seasoned professionals, we’ve rounded up the examples that have most impressed us this year. Check out our rundown below.
An Easy Girl (Georges Lechaptois)
The French Riviera is the fitting location for this tale of sexual discovery and class criticism. Georges Lechaptois’ frames are gorgeous not just because of the landscape––we have reoccurring overhead shots of the crystal-blue tides rustling against the beach where characters lay––but the juxtaposition of the quiet life out on the sea. The sun-soaked vistas at lunch are as lively as the quiet, sensuous nights the lovers spend in their dimly lit...
An Easy Girl (Georges Lechaptois)
The French Riviera is the fitting location for this tale of sexual discovery and class criticism. Georges Lechaptois’ frames are gorgeous not just because of the landscape––we have reoccurring overhead shots of the crystal-blue tides rustling against the beach where characters lay––but the juxtaposition of the quiet life out on the sea. The sun-soaked vistas at lunch are as lively as the quiet, sensuous nights the lovers spend in their dimly lit...
- 12/22/2020
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
While at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, this writer had the opportunity to take in a variety of genre films while in Park City, including Amulet from first-time feature filmmaker Romola Garai, Jayro Bustamante’s haunting La Llorona, as well as the latest project from Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar, Impetigore.
Here’s a rundown of my thoughts on this varied trio of terrors from around the world.
Amulet: For her feature film debut, writer/director Romola Garai gives us an unconventional cautionary tale of sorts, although I’m not sure if the lesson here is: a.) you reap what you sow, b.) nothing in life is free, or c.) if you find a weird bat creature in your toilet, it’s time to get the hell out of the house. Or maybe the lesson here involves all of the above. In any case, Garai has crafted a film that defies convention,...
Here’s a rundown of my thoughts on this varied trio of terrors from around the world.
Amulet: For her feature film debut, writer/director Romola Garai gives us an unconventional cautionary tale of sorts, although I’m not sure if the lesson here is: a.) you reap what you sow, b.) nothing in life is free, or c.) if you find a weird bat creature in your toilet, it’s time to get the hell out of the house. Or maybe the lesson here involves all of the above. In any case, Garai has crafted a film that defies convention,...
- 2/4/2020
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Ever since Hannah Arendt coined the term “the banality of evil” in her 1963 book Eichmann in Jerusalem, it’s been a phrase oft-used in an attempt to describe how seemingly rational humans can do truly awful things. One recalls Joshua Oppenheimer’s documentary The Act of Killing or Chris Weitz’s Operation Finale in recent years. Director Jayro Bustamante wades in these same waters with La Llorona, an effective slow-burn that uses thriller tropes to explore the lingering scars of the Guatemalan Civil War.
An elderly general named Enrique (Julio Diaz) is put on trial for brutal war crimes decades earlier. After he is acquitted on a technicality, his family barricade themselves together in their home, under siege by protestors seeking proper justice. While his wife (Margarita Kénefic) and daughter (Sabrina De La Hoz) debate the legitimacy of the victims’ testimony, the members of the staff begin to resign. Enrique...
An elderly general named Enrique (Julio Diaz) is put on trial for brutal war crimes decades earlier. After he is acquitted on a technicality, his family barricade themselves together in their home, under siege by protestors seeking proper justice. While his wife (Margarita Kénefic) and daughter (Sabrina De La Hoz) debate the legitimacy of the victims’ testimony, the members of the staff begin to resign. Enrique...
- 1/25/2020
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
Plenty as twenty-one Golden Lion hopefuls can offer, leaving the Venice Film Festival without having ventured beyond the fest’s official lineup and into its parallel sidebars would be a missed opportunity. Aside from the notorious Horizons (Orizzonti)—a competitive selection running parallel to the official lineup and designed to showcase new trends in cinema—the festival invites you to explore a panoply of other programs and events, including Out of Competition slots, a selection of restored masterworks (Venice Classics), a virtual reality section (Venice Vr), and independent sidebars such as the International Critics Week and Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori), an independent program modeled on Cannes’ Directors' Fortnight. Now at my fifth year here on the Lido, I must confess I am yet to step foot on the island of Lazzaretto Vecchio, home to the Venice Vr screenings—a trip that would be well worth the ticket, if anything...
- 9/2/2019
- MUBI
Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Julio Hernández Cordon's Buy Me a Gun, which is receiving an exclusive global online premiere on Mubi, is showing from July 12 – August 10, 2019 in Mubi's New Auteurs series.Julio Hernández Cordon’s fifth fiction feature, Buy Me a Gun, is a magical-realist story, loosely based on the realities of Mexico’s drug trafficking, in which a group of children navigates an apocalyptic, dystopian world. In the vein of Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), the film is powered by the underlying idea that children are equipped with all the emotional intelligence and resilience they need—if not to fully understand, then to survive, or to even transcend, the most egregious violence.In the film, a young girl, Huck (Matilde Hernández Guinea), whose sweet, brittle voice guides us throughout in the voiceover, must pretend that she is a boy.
- 7/11/2019
- MUBI
There’s a Fury Road of sorts running through “Buy Me a Gun,” Meso-American filmmaker Julio Hernández Cordón’s orderless, genre-splicing seventh feature, but it’s a bumpy, meandering one; driving along it, you’ll spot “Mad Max’s” desolate, sun-scorched vistas from the windows, passing by at a fraction of the speed. An indeterminately dystopian vision of Mexico in the full control of cartels — whether it’s post-apocalyptic, pre-apocalyptic or merely apocalypse-adjacent is among the many question marks here — the film ostensibly centers on a father and daughter struggling to stick together through a barrage of regimented violence. Yet Hernández Cordón’s narrative is too slender and sluggish to gather much emotional force; wearing such disparate influences as George Miller and Mark Twain brashly on his sleeve, he seems distracted from the task at hand by his smaller, more inventive strokes of world-building. Viewers may follow suit.
Thanks to such well-traveled,...
Thanks to such well-traveled,...
- 5/31/2018
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
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