Film Forum

Lila Avilés’ radiant follow-up to her debut, THE CHAMBERMAID (a 2019 Film Forum premiere), TÓTEM follows 7-year-old Sol helping her aunts prepare for her father’s surprise birthday party, as the house grows increasingly boisterous and her dad’s absence from the festivities increasingly mysterious. “There isn’t a false note in the tender Mexican drama TÓTEM… With intricate staging, lapidary camerawork and an expressionistically warm palette — along with charming appearances from the natural world — the writer-director Lila Avilés creates a richly textured, deeply compassionate portrait of a family that’s falling apart as one of the youngest members comes into consciousness. TÓTEM is only Avilés’ second feature…but it’s also one of the finest movies you’ll see this year.” – Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

With support from the Robert E. Appel Fund for Spanish and Portuguese Language Films

2023     95 MIN.     MEXICO / DENMARK / FRANCE     SIDESHOW / JANUS FILMS
IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Reviews

“EXUBERANTLY LOVELY. A dazzling, vibrant child’s-eye view of jubilation and tragedy… with Avilés’ exceptional direction keeping sentimentality at bay while still, almost magically, sampling the different flavours of grief that run like currents and crosscurrents between the members of this close-knit, bickering family. Much of this comes from the singular shooting style, with Diego Tenorio’s warm, dynamic camera set deep within the hubbub, but pulling from it dozens of painterly close-ups that have the depth of portraiture. It’s an extraordinarily effective way of communicating TÓTEM’s unusual take on a family drama in which every character is in close proximity but is also a discrete world – one that will go on turning even after another stops.”
– Jessica Kiang, Sight and Sound

“A MEXICAN FAMILY PORTRAIT, BURSTING WITH BEAUTY AND DRAMA. Packs in a massive amount of drama into a small space, and the rewards are immense…Should further solidify Avilés’ reputation as an auteur with a unique vision.”
– Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter

Trailer