Horror was the perfect genre for filmmaker Jayro Bustamante and his crew to tell the story of Guatemala’s history of genocide and violence against women in “La Llorona,” shortlisted for an Oscar in the international film category.
Cinematographer Nicolás Wong Díaz and costume designer Sofía Lantán helped Bustamante use a Latino folkloric “wailing woman” tale in service to a socio-political theme about the ghosts haunting Gen. Enrique (Julio Diaz), who is on trial for war crimes against Indigenous people.
Acquitted on a technicality, Enrique returns home from court and that night hears a disembodied cry coming from somewhere in the house. He is led to the basement by his new maid, Alma (María Mercedes Coroy), who looks like an apparition with her long hair and white dress.
“The aesthetic of the movie was created by playing with transparency and light reflection,” says costume designer Sofía Lantán. “We went from...
Cinematographer Nicolás Wong Díaz and costume designer Sofía Lantán helped Bustamante use a Latino folkloric “wailing woman” tale in service to a socio-political theme about the ghosts haunting Gen. Enrique (Julio Diaz), who is on trial for war crimes against Indigenous people.
Acquitted on a technicality, Enrique returns home from court and that night hears a disembodied cry coming from somewhere in the house. He is led to the basement by his new maid, Alma (María Mercedes Coroy), who looks like an apparition with her long hair and white dress.
“The aesthetic of the movie was created by playing with transparency and light reflection,” says costume designer Sofía Lantán. “We went from...
- 3/10/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
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
Horror is woven into political drama in La Llorona, the riveting Golden Globe Foreign Language Film nominee and shortlisted International Feature Oscar contender from Guatemala’s Jayro Bustamante. An elderly wealthy man hears ghostly noises in the night. He is revealed to be former army general Enrique Monteverde (Julio Diaz), on trial for genocide. In court, Mayan-Ixil women give heartbreaking testimonies about systemic rape and murder by his men. At home, his own family begins to question his innocence of sex crimes and war crimes. Is Enrique being haunted by the eponymous La Llorona, the weeping woman of legend who cries for her lost children?
This question is not directly posed, but most of the domestic staff soon bolt out of fear. Enrique is left at home with his wife, daughter and granddaughter — trapped as protesters surround the mansion. Aside from his increasingly necessary security guard, the former general’s...
This question is not directly posed, but most of the domestic staff soon bolt out of fear. Enrique is left at home with his wife, daughter and granddaughter — trapped as protesters surround the mansion. Aside from his increasingly necessary security guard, the former general’s...
- 2/26/2021
- by Anna Smith
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Jayro Bustamante’s blended-genre La Llorona has had a wild two weeks, with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and a berth on the Oscar shortlist for Best International Feature. It also has found a fan in Jane Fonda. The legendary actress recently hosted a virtual screening of the movie, and we have an exclusive clip above.
La Llorona is mix of folklore, magical realism and horror that brings attention to the genocide of native Mayans in 1980s Guatemala. The movie takes its name from the titular legend of the Weeping Woman, and centers on Enrique Monteverde (Julio Diaz), a dictator who evades prosecution for his crimes against humanity and is subsequently haunted by supernatural forces, leading to his death. As Bustamante says in the clip, the film serves as a way for Guatemala to confront its past — he has previously told me this is a...
La Llorona is mix of folklore, magical realism and horror that brings attention to the genocide of native Mayans in 1980s Guatemala. The movie takes its name from the titular legend of the Weeping Woman, and centers on Enrique Monteverde (Julio Diaz), a dictator who evades prosecution for his crimes against humanity and is subsequently haunted by supernatural forces, leading to his death. As Bustamante says in the clip, the film serves as a way for Guatemala to confront its past — he has previously told me this is a...
- 2/12/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Now streaming on Shudder, Jayro Bustamante's La Llorona will be released on Digital HD on March 2nd via Rlje Films.
Below, we have the official press release with additional details, and in case you missed it, read Heather Wixson's Sundance review and interview with Bustamante.
Press Release: Los Angeles – Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to LA Llorona from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. LA Llorona was recently nominated for Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language and is Guatemala’s Official Entry for 2021 Academy Award® consideration for Best International Feature Film. LA Llorona will be released on Digital HD on March 2, 2021.
LA Llorona blends together the terror of both myth and reality into a devastating exposé of the genocidal atrocities against the Mayan community in Guatemala. Through a modern retelling of the classic Latin American legend,...
Below, we have the official press release with additional details, and in case you missed it, read Heather Wixson's Sundance review and interview with Bustamante.
Press Release: Los Angeles – Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to LA Llorona from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. LA Llorona was recently nominated for Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language and is Guatemala’s Official Entry for 2021 Academy Award® consideration for Best International Feature Film. LA Llorona will be released on Digital HD on March 2, 2021.
LA Llorona blends together the terror of both myth and reality into a devastating exposé of the genocidal atrocities against the Mayan community in Guatemala. Through a modern retelling of the classic Latin American legend,...
- 2/8/2021
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
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