La Llorona
La Llorona
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1h 36m
Directed by Jayro Bustamante • 2019 • Guatemala
Starring María Mercedes Coroy, Margarita Kénefic, Sabrina de la Hoz
A country’s bloody history stains the present in the Guatemalan auteur Jayro Bustamante’s transfixing fusion of folk horror and searing political commentary, inspired by the real-life indictment of the authoritarian Efraín Ríos Montt for crimes against humanity. A notorious, now aging former military dictator stands trial for atrocities committed against Guatemala’s Maya communities. 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 (María Mercedes Coroy). 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.
Up Next in La Llorona
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Jayro Bustamante on LA LLORONA
In this interview, recorded in spring 2022, director Jayro Bustamante discusses LA LLORONA and genre filmmaking as a tool to explore Guatemala’s history and reckon with its present.
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Making LA LLORONA
This 2022 documentary, made by director Jayro Bustamante’s production company, La Casa de Producción, is subtitled The Cries of a Wounded People and offers an inside look into the making of LA LLORONA, featuring extensive interviews with the cast and crew.
