Ixcanul

Sometimes I marvel at the magical ability of film to whisk you away to a different time and place … where you’ll be bored to tears. Today’s escape is the rustic mountain region of Guatemala where the natives don’t speak Spanish, the snakes are plentiful, and at least one girl has discovered that one expression fits all. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

María (María Mercedes Coroy) is probably the most attractive of the Kaqchikel volcano folk, but, to be fair, the runner-up is likely a farm animal of some kind. Her pout brings all the boys (both of them) to the (dirt) yard, and yet, nary a one is gonna sing about it. A master of the imperceptible shrug, María approaches all situations with sort of a resigned, defeated countenance. I couldn’t quite tell if this were direction or acting, so I made a chart:

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. María half-asses life like a directionless American teen on summer vacation. Basically, the young girl is offered for marriage to an older man. Her actions sort-of suggest she’s not hip to the plan, but who can really tell? She doesn’t seem to feel anything.

María and her fam live in the shadow of a volcano. Although the volcano doesn’t erupt during the film, it dominates their lives, indirectly producing the coffee beans these poor farmers pick and the snake-infested lands they cannot till. Honestly, I’m a little surprised these folks work for anybody; when your profession is farming and your family owns no more than one cart of possessions combined, you can live most anywhere, no? What exactly do you need money for? Perhaps I’m naïve; even Aztec descendants need dinero, I suppose, especially if their land is full of snakes. Seriously, have you tried living on a non-snake filled plot?

Counter to her lack-of-expression, Ixcanul (“Volcano”) wanted to show some sort of sexual revolution among the Guatemalan natives. María is courted by three different gentlemen in the film, and in a culture that clearly favors the man, she decides who is gonna get the good stuff and how he’s gonna get it. My guess is that’s the reason why this film is lauded so, cuz, quite frankly, I don’t see any appeal other than novelty. The themes of life being rough for the poor, superstitious, and undereducated are hardly groundbreaking.

♪The most indifferent face, it’s quite absurd
María, María, María, María
All the expressions of nature in one, inferred
María, María, María, María
María!
Almost got a rise from María
And suddenly her mood
Is misunderstood
By me.
María!
I’ve just snogged a girl named María!
All at once I do not know
What emotion she’ll show
María!
Say it loud and she’ll stare at you blankly
Say it soft and she’ll …stare at you blankly
María!
Who knows what goes on with María?♫

Not Rated, 93 Minutes
D: Jayro Bustamante
W: Jayro Bustamante
Genre: Shafting the innocent
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Native Guatemalans
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Action junkies

♪ Parody inspired by “María”