La Llorona (2019) is advertised as a horror film but it is much more than that. The film is a moody psychological meditation about evil. No slashing, no blood, no jump scares, instead a dark, brooding melancholy envelopes a disgraced Guatemalan general and his family as they are slowly forced to confront the evil deeds of his past.
Directed by Jayro Bustamante, who is one of the elite Latin American directors of our time that also include Alfonso Cuarón (Roma). Both directors are socially conscious and have a similar style and pacing.
We will be watching Jayro Bustamante's 2015 film Ixcanul in a couple of weeks, can't wait. Ixcanul was selected as the Guatemalan entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but was not nominated.
Both films are in Spanish and Myan with English subtitles.
