Ixcanul Volcano: A Film with a Boiling Center

     What happens when a girl of a tender young age gets pregnant before her marriage? What changes when her dream was to escape the ties of her family and the society, instead of having to raise a fatherless child? What goes down when two cultures clash? Would she stay strong or would she crumble?

This is not a story set in the flashy, colourful, lively sets in California or Los Angeles. The cultures clashing here are not those of Americans and Indians. Ixcanul, is the story of a young girl, making a tough, painful and strengthening transition into the reality of adulthood. In the backdrop of the volcano named Ixcanul, this story unveils the frailty of life, the journey to find oneself, and the beautiful, painstaking transformation of Maria, a 17 year old Mayan girl.

She lives and works on a coffee plantation with her family. Even though an arranged marriage awaits her, Maria’s dreams are of escaping to the city. Suddenly, because of a careless act, an unwanted pregnancy pulls her world apart, forcing Maria to take drastic measures in order to secure her family’s future.

Ixcanul opens with a long close up of Maria’s face as her mother Juana (Maria Telon) prepares a head dress for the impending arrival of her fiance, Ignacio, instantly setting the tone for what is to follow. While the preparations are going on, Maria’s head is racing with thoughts of her future, although none of the pain she experiences is clearly expressed. She stays unrelentingly calm and composed even though each step she takes becomes mistakes after mistakes.

All along the movie, Maria is shown to have no luck with men, who with no exception, end up hurting her and  leaving  after the fulfilment of their own selfish purposes.

Her pregnancy is a result of her one night stand with a man named Pepe who had only used her for that one night. Maria’s father (Manuel Manuel) is a man who runs away from responsibilities, and he is seen allowing his pregnant daughter to enter a field of snakes in a misguided attempt to save their harvest. Unfortunately for the man,  Maria is betrothed to turns out to be the most despicable of the lot, lying to both her family and the police with consequences that ultimately prove devastating for Maria’s future and her hopes for any happiness.

The clash between modernity and tradition has been frequently explored by filmmakers as diverse as Yasujiro Ozu and Satyajit Ray, but here, Jayro Bustamante’s use of non-professional actors brings an inimitable authenticity to the story of this small Mayan community.

Maria (Maria Mercedes Coroy) isn’t your typical seventeen year old girl who is preoccupied with boyfriends and dates and impressing people and looking for universal approval. She is a girl going through the attempt of empowering herself in terms of making decisions and facing the grim realities of life. Coroy is exceptional in the lead role of Maria, but it’s Telon’s portrayal of her mother Juana that holds the entire film together.

Watching the old mother Juana cling to the traditional customs as she tries to do right by her daughter is heartbreaking to see, yet Ixcanul never slips into melodrama, or portray anything unrealistic. Instead, the most powerful moments in the film arrive completely unexpected, in the shape of a lingering glance or a pause between words. Without spoiling the film’s final moments, one particular scene set in the back of a truck is absolutely devastating to watch;  it’s hard to watch Telon’s performance with dry eyes.

Even though sometimes the movie dances on tiptoes along the lines of a documentary since there are no unnecessary dialogues and the director just plainly puts frames of real life in front of the audience, Ixcanul is one of those masterpieces that portray the simplicity of life, yet becomes successful in painting a picture of how complex it can become, through a few twists of fate.

It might be difficult to come to terms with the fact that Ixcanul is Jayro Bustamante’s debut feature film. His exquisite framing and the steady pacing of each scene gives the performances space to grow and breathe naturally, moving the narrative forward while still providing a glimpse of the Mayans’ daily rituals, which might be a breeze of fresh air to those who are not at all familiar with them.

Even the scene where there is a visceral slaughter of a pig, possesses an eerie calm that might take some adjusting for people who are unfamiliar with such rituals. The film is rich with natural noises around the volcano and the settlement of the Mayan tribe. Only when Ixcanul ventures into the city does the camera work change, freewheeling from the serenity of Bustamante’s long takes into a frenzy of chaos and panic, symbolizing the merciless flow of life, rushing Maria forward—whether it is towards her dream or not, is a question that haunts each person watching the movie.

The 2015 Guatemalan-French drama film written and directed by Jayro Bustamante was screened in the main competition section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Alfred Bauer Prize. The film was selected as the Guatemalan entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but was not nominated.                                                                                                                           Metilda Simon