Huesera: The Bone Woman is a breathtaking and heartfelt film that digs into the largely unknown side of being a mother and a woman. It muses about what we do to ourselves to please others. The film stars Natalia Solián as Valeria, a heartbreakingly vulnerable woman who wants nothing more than to be accepted by her family at whatever cost to herself. Michelle Garza Cervera is the film's director, and it is her first feature film. Huesera is also a co-production of Mexico and Peru.
A Sinister Entity, A Pregnant Woman, Witches
Solián’s performance acts as the linchpin of the film. Valeria is a young woman expecting her first child who becomes cursed by a sinister entity. A group of witches emerges as Valeria’s best hope for survival, but that hope doesn’t come without a cost. She is a nervous woman whose reaction to her family’s disapproval is viciously cracking her knuckles. Valeria's face is that of a gentle soul who wants to believe that she can make her family happy.
Huesera: The Bone Woman is a film that hides and then reveals the characters' deepest hurts and the secrets they try to keep, even from themselves. The ensemble and the primarily female cast’s work is impeccable. Garza Cervera has as wonderful a touch as she does with the film’s imagery and the script's creation with co-writer Abia Castillo as with the actors. The film also stars Alfonso Dosal as Raúl, Valeria's husband, Mayra Batalla, Mercedes Hernández, and Aída López.
Among the film's many incredible assets is the slow but steady feeling of dread that creeps up on the viewer. Garza Cervera used the placement of the camera and its POV to bring that sense of always being watched into Valeria and Raúl’s troubled home, along with quick glimpses of things that may or may not be there. The film holds up to multiple viewings, and each new watch will bring other frightening glimpses into the nightmarish world that starts closing in on Valeria.
Gorgeous colors, Thematic Resonance, Magic
Huesera: The Bone Woman is not only scary but fascinating. It was created in Mexico, Michelle Garza Cervera’s home, and cinematographer Nur Rubio Sherwell made magic without the bells and whistles of Hollywood. The film didn’t have a big budget, but it looks like it did. The vivid colors, yellow, mint green, and red are part of a gorgeous palette with thematic resonance.
The film’s haunting central image, a woman walking away with her robe on fire, burns into the viewer’s brain. Through the lens of Huesera: The Bone Woman, Mexico is a place of real people and families with everyday lives. It’s not the dusty desert with only desperate immigrants and drug cartels. They have also treated the country of Mexico with dignity that the country doesn’t often get.
At the same time, the film tackles the genuine and troubling aspects of Mexican families and their relationships with their female family members. Valeria is doing her best to get pregnant because that’s what everyone else in her family wants from her. They can’t see her value and worth as a person without birthing a child. Even though Valeria can’t admit it, you can see her inward disappointment that no one sees her quite like her old friend Octavia does.
Body In Revolt, Otherworldly Presence, Childbirth Is Horror
Huesera puts forth the idea that childbirth is something that can be terrifying. It’s something that no one tells young girls in their hurry to have them become mothers. Young women are issued no warnings of how a woman’s hip bones have to detach to allow birth and what the hormonal fluctuations of pregnancy can do to a woman’s sense of reality and well-being. What’s even more telling is how some of Valeria’s loved ones conclude that Valeria is crazy. For Valeria, not only is her body in revolt, but her loved ones don’t believe her and don’t heed her warnings. It’s disturbing in a way that is much more realistic.
Another aspect of the horror is the strange phenomena within Latino, predominantly Mexican families, where they actively pick on the most vulnerable. It’s something that many have experienced. Family members insist that these insulting stories are jokes, but those family members love to use the tales to mortify the family’s most sensitive members. Those stories are brought up, usually with people outside of the family group, to humiliate the family member who can’t take that kind of mockery. There is a casual and savage glee with which one’s family members will race to howl with laughter in a more timid brother or sister’s face.
The terror in the film exists on many different levels. While paranormal phenomena are on display, even something as simple as a family dinner can lead to embarrassment that causes panic and rage. Huesera: The Bone Woman is an eye-opener with gorgeous and subtly disturbing images and psychological pressure that never lets up. In the film, Michelle Garza Cervera has crafted a folk horror story with her actors and craftspeople that reflect the natural world and shimmers with unbearable tension.
Mysterious and electrifying, Huesera: The Bone Woman is one of this year’s most challenging and best films.
The film is in theaters on February 10 and simultaneously releases on digital services. Following the theatrical and digital release, Shudder.com will release the film on its platform in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
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This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
source https://wealthofgeeks.com/huesera-the-bone-woman-review/
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