La Llorona: dir Jayro Bustamante (2019)

Guatemalan auteur Jayro Bustamante’s transfixing fusion of folklore, magical realism and searing political commentary was inspired by the real-life indictment of the authoritarian Efraín Ríos Montt for crimes against humanity. A notorious, indignant, ageing former military dictator, Enrique stands trial for atrocities committed against Guatemala’s Maya communities; as a horde of angry protestors threatens to invade his 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. While battling legal repercussions and the people’s demands for justice, he and his family are plagued by a series of increasingly strange and disturbing occurrences, seemingly brought on by an enigmatic new housekeeper. With a restraint that renders the film’s shocks all the more potent, Bustamante crafts a chilling vision of a nation reckoning with collective harms and the restless ghosts of a past that refuses to die … Recommended.

In Spanish, Mayan-Caqchickel and Mayan-Ixil, subtitled in English.