Sujo (2024) User Reviews

Sundance

[yusufpiskin · 8/10 · 11 March 2024]

"SUJO" is a masterful blend of compelling storytelling and mesmerizing visuals. The film's brisk pace keeps the audience engaged, while the stunning cinematography by Ximena Amann paints a vivid and atmospheric backdrop. Each frame is a work of art, capturing the essence of Sujo's world with remarkable detail and authenticity.

Juan Jesús Varela delivers a tour-de-force performance as Sujo, bringing depth and nuance to a complex and emotionally wrought character. Varela's performance captures the full range of Sujo's emotions, from the innocence of his childhood to the hardened resolve of his adulthood.

More than a gripping family tragedy, "SUJO" is a powerful indictment of violence and its devastating impact on society. The film unflinchingly confronts the brutal realities of life in a world ruled by cartels, offering a glimpse into the human cost of violence.

"SUJO" is a cinematic triumph that deserves to be seen by a wide audience. The film's powerful message, stunning visuals, and exceptional performances make it an unforgettable and thought-provoking experience.

Good slow-burn art-house Mexican movie

[chenp-54708 · 7/10 · 28 January 2024]

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

"Sujo", while slow, is a good character study of a movie about a boy struggling in a society due to being born with a cruse that can't escape with strong direction, beautiful camerawork, and good performances from the entire cast. The narrative explores some interesting themes, characters, and ideas that felt genuine, dark, and a bit depressing and tense to observe. Including good sound designs, costumes, and atmospheres explored throughout the setting.

The performances from the cast members are good including the child performances as each cast helped to create the realistic, isolated feel and lonely of the characters situated in. Many of the characters are interesting but it does suffer from some weak developments that felt a bit hollow. I did wish the characters were a little more grounded and some of the pacing could improve. Including some of the dialogue as some of the dialogue feels a little too artificial at times.

Nevertheless, the filmmakers has proven that they have a good vision and there are some really strong moments throughout. It is flawed but it's still an ambitious story to tell.

Quiet, Powerful

[joshuacngotran · 9/10 · 21 January 2024]

Sujo is a film that I went into with no expectations and no knowledge of the story. I left the theater having seen a masterpiece. A film that portrays the solitude of a boy born broken, born with a curse that couldn't be removed. The passion of building a better life brought down by the life he was born into.

Stunning cinematography and amazing acting elevate the story into its own world. The child actors especially surprised me with their talent, a quiet role is often the hardest to play. The sound design is one element of the film that especially blew me away. Little details are heard in amazing quality, loud sounds are sparse but powerful. The film is told mostly from Sujo's perspective, isolating the audience and providing a terrifying realistic look at a life many of us do not get to see.

9/10.

A coming of age masterpiece!

[collin_rain · 10/10 · 28 January 2024]

I got the opportunity to watch Sujo online at Sundance. It's by far the best one I saw throughout the fest! A shame I couldn't catch tickets earlier.

It tells the story of a boy, Sujo growing up in the Mexican countryside. His father is killed, he is a member of a cartel and Sujo manages to survive and grows up with his aunt Nemesia. There in the isolation he builds up his moral character and a fear of becoming his father. As he gets into adolescence the cartels catch up with him and his two best friends so he flees to the city in search of a different life.

No cheap thrills here, pure cinema at its best. In its core it is a Bildungsroman, a character study that let us see the consequences of the drug wars in the new generations. Dickensian in the mix of tools they used to achieve closeness with Sujo.

Stunning actors, stunning cinematography and score.

A coming of age masterpiece!

A Slowburn without the burn

[Filmz48 · 3/10 · 28 January 2024]

I just watched this film at Sundance and found it to be aimless and arduous to watch. The characters, especially the main character, lacked any notable interior life throughout the film. The acting was poor, though the writing didn't seem to give them much to work with. The characters, including Sujo were static. Story turns and transitions were stilted, if not lifeless.

The characters and their stories seemed hollow and the interactions between characters often didn't make sense. The chemistry and connection between characters were poorly established by poor writing and by poor, unconvincing acting.

Haunting portrait of a young man

[xuintian · 9/10 · 4 April 2024]

This film is a very delicate portrait of a young man that was born in a very difficult reality: gang violence in Mexico. The boy becomes an orphan when his father, a murderer himself, is killed. He grows up under his shadow but taken care by many different characters that help him overcome many obstacles. Is he the master of his destiny? Or is he a servant of an impending fate?. A man is self made or is he just his past and context?. This film doesn't provide answers but raises a very powerful question that really resonates. Beautifully crafted, powerful performances and a mysterious namesake, Sujo. Must see. Watched at 2024 HKIFF.

Strong and unforgettable

[tifibo · 10/10 · 29 March 2024]

Sujo is a powerful film. I watched at Sofia Film Festival and i got very moved by this story. Children in this world are subjected to terrible acts of violence and this story at some point seemed that it was going to be a no way out type of story. It ended being a masterfully told tale about a boy turning into a good man. I really didn't expect the outcome and how all characters are interwoven into a delicate fabric of life and destiny and hope.

We all deserve to have a good future and Sujo is a testament of that.

Only thing that I didn't like was missing the Q&A at the festival. Cheers to the creators of such a special story. Hope it will have more awards and recognition.

Tragic and imaginative coming of age

[martinpersson97 · 10/10 · 3 February 2024]

This incredible and artistic piece, by a great director, is definitely deserving of all the praise and attention it has gotten, and yet another testament of the provice of this very promising and great movie season.

The actors all do an incredible job, conveying hardships and drama, a sense of innocence, yet a harsh coming of age narrative. Very emotional, very beautiful. The writing is superb, excellently paced, to say the least. Very unconventional and imaginative.

The cinematography, cutting and editing is incredible, very low key and unique, and overall very beautifully put together.

Overall, definitely an incredible film, that I would very much recommend for any lover of film!

A delicate coming of age

[hoppersdanny · 10/10 · 9 February 2024]

Powerful and deep resume for me the experience of watching this film. It's a very common topic in the south of the border films to talk about Drug Cartels and violence. But never in the way this film tackles it. Destiny vs free will. An orphan of a Cartel sicario grows up wondering if he will become his father and at some point the character seems to drift into what is expected of him, being a poor man. But life is so wide and filled with different possibilities that soon the tables are turned and this sicario in the making is working an honest job in the big city and little by little getting close to a university where he meets a character that will change his life forever. Beautiful and sad. It is a powerful statement of a strong spirit. A beautiful coming of age. I wanted to see more of this young man's life. A beautiful film and a great achievement.