Ixcanul (2015)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- The brilliant debut by Guatemalan filmmaker Jayro Bustamante is a mesmerising fusion of fact and fable, a dreamlike depiction of the daily lives of Kaqchikel speaking Mayans on a coffee plantation at the base of an active volcano. Immersing us in its characters' customs and beliefs, Ixcanul chronicles with unblinking realism, a disappearing tradition and a disappearing people.
- Actors:
- María Mercedes Coroy, María Telón, Manuel Antún, Justo Lorenzo, Marvin Coroy, Fernando Martínez
- Directors:
- Jayro Bustamante
- Aka:
- Ixcanul Volcano
- Genres:
- Drama
- Awards:
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Reviews (1) of Ixcanul
Between Two Bad Exits - Ixcanul review by griggs
A film set at the foot of a volcano sounds like it should shake the doors off their hinges. Ixcanul does something better: it lets the pressure build until you realise you’ve been holding your breath. The film follows María, a young Kaqchikel woman trapped between family duty, poverty, desire and the faint promise of escape. Pepe offers desire, danger, and the idea of somewhere else. Ignacio offers safety of a sort, but also another trap: family expectation, patriarchy, and the same hard future already mapped out for her.
So, really, this is a young woman caught between two bad exits, with a volcano in the background doing the emotional admin.
That sounds bleak, and often it is, but it is also quietly gripping. I found its restraint more powerful than a dozen louder melodramas.
María Mercedes Coroy is superb, communicating whole arguments through looks, silences and posture. Ixcanul is beautiful, solemn, sad, purposeful, and quietly volcanic.