Director Jayro Bustamante‘s combines a Latin American fable as a metaphor for Latin American struggles in La Llorona, not to be confused with Michael Chaves’ 2019 movie The Curse of La Llorona.
Written by Bustamante and Lisandro Sánchez, the film centers on an indignant retired general Enrique who finally faces trial for the genocidal massacre of thousands of Mayans decades ago. As a horde of angry protestors threatens to invade their opulent home, the women of the house—his haughty wife, conflicted daughter, and precocious 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. Meanwhile, much of the family’s domestic staff flee, leaving only loyal housekeeper Valeriana until a mysterious young Indigenous maid arrives.
La Llorona marks Bustamante’s third feature and demonstrates his continued efforts to highlight social inequality in his native Guatemala following his previous titles Temblores (2019) and Ixcanul (2016).
A tale of horror and magical realism, the film reimagines the iconic Latin American fable as an urgent metaphor of Guatemala’s recent history and tears open the country’s unhealed political wounds to grieve a seldom discussed crime against humanity.
La Llorona (review) debuts on Shudder today!
