D Jayro Bustamante | France, Guatemala, 2015
The Volcano (Ixcanul) is the story of a young girl, Maria (María Mercedes Coroy) who dreams of escaping to America while working in a rural farm awaiting her arranged marriage. The film portrays a society where women are treated as objects and forced to marry in exchange for family stability. Maria and her mother, Juana (María Telón) and father Manuel (Manuel Manuel Antún) live on a coffee plantation and have arranged for Maria to marry the overseer, Ignacio (Justo Lorenzo). Maria begins a relationship with Pepe (Marvin Coroy) a plantation worker who claims to be on his way to America. Maria pleads with him to take her along, however Pepe asks for something in return, her innocence.
Maria is a complex teenager, who is confronted with the idea of spending the rest of her life on the plantation whilst coming to terms with her own sexuality. The animals in the film play a key role in describing Maria’s desire to leave. A pig is slaughtered after fulfilling its role in impregnating a female sow, and a cow is left to die in the road after being bitten by a snake. These animals represent Maria’s position in society, as an object to be used and discarded. Many socio economic themes are also mentioned in the film as Maria and her family are referred to as peasants and are unable to speak that national language Spanish.
The relationship between Maria and her mother, Juana is beautiful. Juana’s combination of charm, playfulness and practicality ensure that the audience understands the love she has for her daughter, which emphasises the harshness of the society they live in.
The cinematography style is reminiscent of several Jim Jarmusch films as many of the scenes consist of single shots with the actor’s staged around the frame. The use of an anamorphic lens captured the breathtaking images at the foot of a massive volcano. This film is a treasure, and it is well worth seeing.
