mexican – PopCult Reviews

Movie Review – The Chambermaid

The Chambermaid (2018)
Written by Lila Avilés and Juan Márquez
Directed by Lila Avilés

I was profoundly impressed by Lila Avilés’s Totem, which will be on my list of favorite films in 2024. Her previous feature, The Chambermaid, was mentioned in an interview I came across about Totem. I put that on my To Be Watched list, and with this December film series, A Christmas Gift to Myself, I had the perfect opportunity to watch it. The film is not focused on a plot, much like Totem; it is a character study about a pivotal moment in a person’s life. They are not someone most of us would likely notice, yet their life is complicated and full of powerful moments of connection.

Movie Review – Santa Sangre

Santa Sangre (1989)
Written by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Roberto Leoni, and Claudio Argento
Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky

The first (and only, until this film) Alejandro Jodorowsky film I ever watched was The Holy Mountain. That was fourteen years ago and took place on a very eventful night. I was staying at a friend’s place. The following day, Ariana would arrive from Puerto Rico. That night before consisted of eating a very poorly made but extremely potent homemade weed cookie my friend had at his place, eating Indian food for the first time while extremely high, and then watching There Will Be Blood high as balls. We returned to his place, still stoned, and he popped in The Holy Mountain. The film certainly left a mark on me based on those circumstances.

PopCult Podcast – Totem/La Chimera

These were two fantastic films made by two fantastic directing women. The first is an intimate study of a life changing day in a little girl’s life. The second is the mythic journey taken by a rogue British archaeologist in Italy.