The 2019 London Film Festival gave this movie a prime spot - not sure if they actually watched the whole film beforehand - but the half empty screening suggested the audience has better taste than the festival programmer.
So many things are wrong with this movie - mostly the acting. Apart from a few of the leads, most of the performances from the rest of the cast were patchy at best, and more consistently poor. It does give the viewer an appreciation for acting in other films - but it is painful to watch.
Whilst the first church scene was vaguely interesting, and the second only mildly dull, the third and the fourth church scenes just made me want to pull my hair out.
Some of the sound is pretty awful too. Whilst I understand that re-recording sound is expensive - surely a competent director does not shoot a scene beside a major road. Avoiding noisy roads isn't rocket science!
Then there's the grim script. Most films where misery is the central theme have "comic relief" moments, where the audience can breathe, before the next onslaught. This film doesn't really have any let up, as it piles misery on top of misery, with the just briefest hint that there might possibly have been some pleasure happening elsewhere.
The basic summary is that grim stuff that happened in the west 40 years ago still happens in Guatemala today - that's it! Save yourself two of the longest hours of your life, and go watch paint dry instead - it will be more rewarding.
So many things are wrong with this movie - mostly the acting. Apart from a few of the leads, most of the performances from the rest of the cast were patchy at best, and more consistently poor. It does give the viewer an appreciation for acting in other films - but it is painful to watch.
Whilst the first church scene was vaguely interesting, and the second only mildly dull, the third and the fourth church scenes just made me want to pull my hair out.
Some of the sound is pretty awful too. Whilst I understand that re-recording sound is expensive - surely a competent director does not shoot a scene beside a major road. Avoiding noisy roads isn't rocket science!
Then there's the grim script. Most films where misery is the central theme have "comic relief" moments, where the audience can breathe, before the next onslaught. This film doesn't really have any let up, as it piles misery on top of misery, with the just briefest hint that there might possibly have been some pleasure happening elsewhere.
The basic summary is that grim stuff that happened in the west 40 years ago still happens in Guatemala today - that's it! Save yourself two of the longest hours of your life, and go watch paint dry instead - it will be more rewarding.