A birthday party for a dying father chronicles childhood before loss in 'Tótem' Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of Sideshow and Janus Films Courtesy of Sideshow and Janus Films In the film Tótem, 7-year-old Sol arrives at her grandparents' house in Mexico City for a birthday party donning a fluffy rainbow wig and a bright red clown nose. "It's …
One of the first and last things you see in “Tótem,” Lila Avilés’ lovely and astonishing second feature, is a shot of a young girl’s face. Avilés’ technique has grown looser, more mobile and rough-hewn than in her 2018 debut feature, “The Chambermaid,” a meticulously composed portrait of a worker in a luxury hotel. But the achievement of “Tótem,” Mexico’s …
For a film about death, Lila Avilés’ “Tótem” is extraordinarily lived in. Young Sol spends much of “Tótem” spying on another world, the adult world, a place buzzing with activity that seems strangely, perhaps, distracted from the crushing calamity right down the hall. “Tótem,” which was Mexico’s shortlisted Oscar submission and begins its theatrical release Friday, more than confirms the …
MORELIA, México — El largometraje de ficción “Tótem”, de Lila Avilés, y el documental “El eco”, de Tatiana Huezo, fueron los máximos ganadores de la 21ª edición del Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia. Es la segunda vez que Avilés gana el premio a mejor largometraje de ficción en Morelia tras conseguirlo en 2018 con su ópera prima “La camarista”. …
