The genre elements are minimal, too, making it more horror-lite political drama than actual horror. While much of the imagery is powerful, and the historical context adds potency to Bustamante’s message, the languid pacing can often make the runtime feel longer than it is. The innocent granddaughter is oblivious to any of the sordid family history and has taken a strong liking to the strange new maid the loyal maid who stayed when all others stuck to their convictions and fled. The proud wife clings tight to her husband, despite the anger his lecherous ways bring to the surface. The grown and successful daughter questions the truth in her father’s versions of events.
He hears La Llorona’s cries, and he will need to reckon with his past before the movie is through, but the narrative focus is on the women in his life. Nor is this Enrique’s story he’s suffering Alzheimer’s and nearing the end of his long life. There is an eerie atmosphere and some subtle moments of supernatural horror, but there are no jump scares to be found here. Director Bustamante, and co-writer Lisandro Sanchez, keep the horrors of Enrique’s political reign at the forefront of this slow-burn narrative. María Mercedes Coroy and Mara Teln appear in La Llorona by Jayro Bustamante.Įnrique and his past are based on Guatemala’s not so distant past, merging fiction with harsh historical truths. As Enrique’s horrible past draws mounting ire from the outside world, the arrival of a new, mysterious maid coincides with a supernatural force that aims to unravel the family entirely.Īll must confront their responsibility in Enrique’s past actions. When their staff flees, only a loyal housekeeper remains.
Hordes of angry protesters threaten to invade, causing Enrique’s family to barricade themselves inside their lavish home.
That’s before devastating courtroom confessions by surviving victims of Enrique’s past crimes find him guilty. Though he maintains that he was fulfilling his duty to wipe out guerillas to his proud wife and skeptical daughter, his increasingly senile behavior puts the household at risk.
Retired general Enrique is finally facing trial for the genocide of indigenous Mayans three decades ago. With La Llorona, Guatemalan filmmaker Jayro Bustamante reinterprets the legend and applies it to a layered and politically charged horror film that eschews the supernatural in favor of tragic realism. The act dooms her to wander in limbo, crying for her lost children and drowning any unfortunate children that cross her path. In her grief, the woman drowns her two children in a river, and then herself when she realizes what she’s done. The details of her origins may differ, but the general conceit of her lore tells of a woman whose husband leaves her for another. La Llorona, or the Weeping Woman, is one of the most well-known figures in Latin American folklore.