The Guatemalan political horror thriller La Llorona—the first Central American film to have ever been nominated for Best Foreign Language at the Golden Globes—is seeking to make additional history this evening by giving the region and the country its first win in the 78 editions of the coveted movie awards.
The opponent to win is the Danish film Another Round by Thomas Vinterberg, which is the favorite to take home the Golden Globe in the foreign-language category. Yet, numerous predictions place the Guatemalan film as the dark horse with some possibilities to win this evening.
The third film by Jayro Bustamante (Ixcanul, Temblores) is a tale of horror and magical realism that reimagines the iconic Latin American fable, a grieving indigenous woman seeking revenge for the death of her children, as an urgent metaphor of Guatemala’s recent civil war which left an estimated hundreds of thousands dead, missing and displaced. The bloodiest period was under the rule of Efraín Ríos Montt, from 1981 to 1983. Today, Central America remains a region hit by violence against indigenous peoples, social movements and marginalized communities.
The film follows indignant retired general Enrique, whose character is inspired by Montt, as he finally faces trial for the genocidal massacre of thousands of Mayans decades ago. As a horde of angry protestors threatens to invade his opulent home, the women of the house—his wife, daughter, and granddaughter—weigh their responsibility to shield the erratic, senile Enrique against the devastating truths being publicly revealed and the increasing sense that a wrathful supernatural force is targeting them for his crimes.
La Llorona had its world premiere at Venice Days, the independent competitive section of the 2019 Venice Film Festival, and played to critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, and BFI London Film Festival. The Guatemalan film was also shortlisted in the Oscar competition for Best International Feature. Needless to say, a Golden Globe win, would consolidate the film’s Oscar aspirations.
