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

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

The 2019 film Ceniza Negra or Land of Ashes is a Latin American drama written and directed by Sofia Quiros. This film is about a 13 year old girl named Selva, played by Smashleen Gutierrez, who lives in a coastal town of the Caribbean with her grandfather Tata, played by Humberto Samuels, and grandmother Elena, played by Hortensia Smith. Selva and Elena have somewhat of a complicated relationship because Elena often fails at being the responsible guardian that  Selva needs. Since Tata is nearly disabled and Elena is gone most of the time, Selva has to learn to raise herself. The relationship between Selva and Elena definitely has its challenges in the beginning of the film but regardless of that, we also see them sharing some memorable moments together. One of my favorite scenes of the two was at the dinner table when Selva catches Elena wearing her deceased mothers bracelet. Selva angrily asks Elena to give it back which not only results in Elena returning the item, but the two begin to exchange some unpleasant words to describe each other. This scene was pretty intense because it was shocking to hear a grandmother and a granddaughter call each other such vulgar names in attempts to insult one another. They go at it for a few moments and once they are done name calling each other there’s a few seconds of silence before they break out into laughter. This scene was truly iconic because I didn’t expect them to break out into laughter after expressing their disgust for each other but I liked how it really captured their dysfunctional but unique  relationship. In the beginning, we can see how Selva struggles to basically raise herself but when Elena mysteriously disappears, she is left to not only take care of herself but she also has to take care of Tata who doesn’t want to live. This puts Selva in a position to decide whether she should continue to care for her grandfather or help him die and go through her childhood alone. Despite Selva having to deal with the sudden disappearance and death of Elena, we see that she is not completely alone because she is seen spending time with a mysterious person. This person does not speak to Selva but simply just keeps her company which makes the audience wonder if it is Selva’s dead mother who she is imagining. Throughout the film, we also see Selva feeding Tata’s “cabra’s” or goats who we never actually see on screen but it all makes sense as to why towards the end of the film. At first, we don’t really see the importance of Tata’s love for his goats but in the end we understand their significance and impact. The end gave me chills and almost made me cry from how beautiful the meaning of these inexistent goats were and what they now meant to Selva. Land of ashes is so scenically beautiful because not only does it use natural lighting, but the film was shot on real locations that are breathtaking.