La Llorona (2019) - A melancholy (metaphorical) ghost story

Title: La Llorona

Year: 2019

Director: Jayro Bustamante

IMDb score: 6.6/10

Personal score: 7.5/10

Summary: An aging, paranoid war criminal, condemned by the public for his role in the Guatemalan genocide, is confined to his mansion with his faithful wife, daughter and granddaughter. When a new maid enters the household, the general and his family find that the ghosts of his past are reluctant to let his last moments be peaceful.

Two-sentence review: A slow burn that doesn't rely on jump scares or gore to get its message across - and the message is worth it. If you're looking for a traditional "ghost story" you might be disappointed, because the supernatural elements are subtle, but the ghosts of the past are very much there. 

Watch if: 

• You like slow burns
• You enjoy folk horror 
• You want a movie with a tense atmosphere that doesn't let up
• You want something a little bit different

Don't watch if:

You're looking for easy entertainment that doesn't stick with you

You need an escape from real-world horrors - the movie does touch on a real-world genocide and while descriptions of it are not graphic, it will still make you feel sad and disappointed in humanity

You don't like to read between the lines

Does an animal die in this movie?

No. No animals were harmed. 

Review

First of all, it's important to note that this movie should in no way be confused with any of the other, awful La Llorona movies that have come out (like the horribly formulaic The Curse of La Llorona from the very same year). This movie isn't one where a ghost dressed in a wedding gown pops up from the shadows to go "boo" before disappearing, because the plot needs to happen and the protagonist has to stay alive for the rest of the runtime. 

La Llorona is a beautiful movie. It it wonderfully shot, with great camerawork that focuses on individuals, gives us close-ups that linger for almost uncomfortably long and says so much without saying anything. I'd like to note that I'm not always a fan of slow-burn horror movies, since I find that a lot of them have very little payoff to an excruciatingly long wind-up, but La Llorona managed to keep my attention from the first scene to the last. The score that accompanies the movie is subtle, haunting and creates an atmosphere that is as tense as it is sad. Overall, the atmosphere of the movie is amazing and manages to suck you in whether you want it or not.

The story itself is simple at first glance. It revolves around a man, Enrique Monteverde, who was a general during the Guatemalan civil war and participated in the genocide against the Maya Ixil people during that time. Now, at the eve of his life, he is tried for his crimes. During the trial we hear a testimony from one of the victims of the genocide, who lost his family and was forced into sexual slavery during that period. Other victims and members of the Maya Ixil people stand in the courtroom, hoping to finally get some justice for the crimes committed against them. Using a real genocide as the backdrop for a horror movie can be precarious if not handled well, but this movie handles it perfectly. The pain of the victims, the horrors of the genocide and the sadness such cruel acts elicit bleed through every scene. Nothing is ever graphic or excessive, but it feels real. I believed the performances of the victims, the protesters, the people outraged by the denial of justice and it drove me to learn more about the events this film touches upon. I always find it positive when a movie makes me think and do research. 

The character of Enrique is one you'll find very easy to hate. He is a typical tyrant who, while knowingly murdering, assaulting and torturing countless people, will go to his death bed claiming that he didn't do anything wrong. That those people deserved it for some reason. That he is a righteous man who did what was best for his country. His wife is no better, claiming that the women forced into sexual slavery were 'offering themselves up' to the officers and that all the people clamoring for justice are 'savages'. She seems more upset by the fact that her husband was cheating on her than the fact that he was raping other women. It is easy to hate her as well. Their daughter is someone who is torn between supporting her parents and believing the victims who point out her father as the monster he was. She has some empathy for them but not enough to condemn her parents or even truly call them out. It does make you think what you would do in a situation where the world calls your parents evil while you yourself remember them only as loving, caring and kind. 

Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVf8in0dj9s