La Llorona

Friday, March 5 - Thursday, March 18, 2021

Indignant retired general Enrique finally faces frail for the genocidal massacre of thousands of Mayans decades ago. As a horde of angry protestors threatens to invade their 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 and the increasing sense that a wrathful supernatural force is targeting them for his crimes. Meanwhile, much of the family’s domestic staff flees, leaving only loyal housekeeper Valeriana until a mysterious young Indigenous maid arrives. 

A tale of horror and magical realism, the film reimagines the iconic Latin American fable as an urgent metaphor of Guatemala’s recent history and tears open the country’s unhealed political wounds to grieve a seldom discussed crime against humanity. LA LLORONA marks Bustamante’s third feature and demonstrates his continued efforts to highlight social inequality in his native Guatemala following his previous titles TEMBLORES (2019) and IXCANUL (2016).

All screenings of LA LLORONA feature an exclusive video introduction from filmmaker Jayro Bustamante, recorded to welcome back audiences to IFC Center for our reopening. Watch a compilation of highlights from all the filmmaker intros we received here.

• Country Guatemala
• Language Spanish and Indigeneous Mayan Dialects with English subtitles
• Running Time 97 minutes
• Distributor Shudder
• Director Jayro Bustamante
• Cast María Mercedes Coroy

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.