La Llorona
Jayro Bustamante, 2019, 97 min, Guatemala
Presented by Cara Kinnally, Associate Professor of Spanish.

An aging former Guatemalan general is tried for his role in the massacre of Indigenous Maya communities during the country’s civil war. Although initially found guilty, the verdict is overturned, and he retreats to his heavily guarded mansion with his wife, daughter, and granddaughter. As protesters gather outside to denounce his crimes, a series of unsettling and unexplained events begins inside the home following the arrival of Alma, a mysterious new domestic worker.

Drawing on the Guatemalan legend of La Llorona, the ghost of a woman condemned to wander in search of her lost children, director Jayro Bustamante reimagines the familiar tale as a powerful exploration of historical memory, state repression, gender violence, and the pursuit of justice.