REVIEW: Cannes winner ‘Our Mothers’
Photo: Armando Espitia stars in Our Mothers, a new film by writer-director César Díaz. Photo courtesy of Outsider Pictures / Provided with permission.
The history, both personal and official, that permeates the new Guatemalan drama Our Mothers is palpable and powerful. As the characters in this seemingly simple film literally dig through their country’s past, dark secrets emerge and tough realities are confronted. The winner of the Camera D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival is now available virtually.
The protagonist of the film is Ernesto (an impressive Armando Espitia), a young anthropologist who helps the Forensic Foundation in Guatemala unearth mass graves of soldiers who perished during the country’s civil war. It’s a painstakingly delicate process that can unleash pent-up emotions from family members who are finally able to face the death of their loved ones.
One day, the perpetually busy Ernesto is met by a woman from a rural village (Aurelia Caal) who believes she knows the location of her husband’s remains. Ernesto kindly tells her that there’s a protocol and his workload is already overwhelming. She makes a convincing argument, but he’s not sold on the idea. That is, until she produces a photograph of her husband. The image that stares back at him is of great interest because Ernesto believes another person in the group picture is actually his father, who has been missing and presumed dead since the war.
Eventually Ernesto heads to this small village and begins his anthropological work. As he gets closer to finding the answers, he also must confront the horrors of the past and how they impacted his own mother (Emma Dib).
Our Mothers, or Nuestras Madres, is touchingly written and directed by César Díaz. The plot is never overwhelmed with exposition, and the dialogue feels real and pain-filled. His camera never leaves Ernesto and lingers on several shots for maximum dramatic effect.
As an actor, Espitia is able to run through every emotion with authenticity. He enjoys time with a girl he meets in the local area. He shows comfort and calm to the woman who started him on this journey. He tenderly supports his mother, who has quite the story to tell. Throughout this entire ordeal, the actor is able to make Ernesto believable and heartfelt.
There’s a great metaphor between Ernesto’s literal digging and Díaz’s introspective lens. As the protagonist gets his hands dirty to find answers, the audience watches his face wrestle with the demons of his personal history and the history of this struggling nation. He comes to symbolize the unsettled nature of modern-day Guatemala and the difficulties the country faces in forging a future that never forgets the past.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Our Mothers (2019). Written and directed by César Díaz. Starring Armando Espitia, Emma Dib and Aurelia Caal. In Spanish with English subtitles. Running time: 78 minutes. Rating: 
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