Land of Ashes “Ceniza Negra” (Sofia Quiros, 2019) : Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, France

Reviewed by Maria Loza. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2020.

This film is about Selva who loses Elena, someone she sees as her motherly figure and now she is only left with her grandpa who misses Elena dearly. Now she is left to care for her grandpa who doesn’t want to live. She is caught in a tough spot on whether to help her grandpa join Elena or not. This is her journey of leaving her childhood when her only parental figures are fading away.

There is a big emphasis on symbolism because there isn’t a lot of dialogue to lead the story on. The story is very symbolic because of the lack of dialogue, one of the characters never speaks. However, I really loved the director’s decision to do this because it made me think deeper about the film. If a film doesn’t have a lot of dialogue it forces the audience to think, instead of just watching, this film makes the audience observe and think. Leaving the theater after this film left me in deep thought. The film had very little dialogue so much of the film was left to interpretation. Even with the dynamic of this family, at first, it might seem as it’s dysfunctional but in reality, selva loves her grandpa and Elena. The relationship between Selva and Elena seemed complicated because at times Selva seemed hostile or even resentful of Elena saying she was crazy. However, they do share some moments of having fun together. The scenes where they do have fun, they’re dancing or listening to music. However, one of the most interesting scenes in the film was when Elena and Selva were out having fun was one of the last scenes that Elena was in. 

The lack of dialogue and context really had a big effect on the story because it was a bit hard just going of your own perceptions. The story also doesn’t have any backstory. We never find out why Selva has only her grandpa. It’s only shown that Selva’s mother passed by there is never an explanation as to how and where her father is.

The story is very symbolic because of the lack of dialogue, one of the characters never speaks. Her name is never spoken but she’s winter. It’s never revealed who she is and what her relationship to selva is. However, they share special moments throughout the film with ritual like scenes. They seem to bury dead animals in graves in the forest. These scenes of dead animals almost seem to foreshadow the event of Elena’s passing.

 Selva also has a crush on a classmate and this to me seemed like another part of her leaving her childhood behind. As she’s going through her journey of transitioning to a teenager in school as well.

The cinematography was very interesting and intriguing because there were many close up shots of the characters where they didn’t and it was more about observing. Most of the scenes took place in the forest or at the beach and they evoked a feeling of serenity. I think these were a connection between the concept of life and death and the connection between them.

This film was beautiful and I would definitely recommend because it’s a film that you can rewatch and find new things every time you watch.