Protagonist María [is] played with a fierce calm by María Mercedes Coroy.

| Feb 27, 2021

Ixcanul is a mesmerizing, intimate and meditative coming-of- age tale that explores a culture rarely seen in films. [Full review in Japanese]

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 19, 2016

The end ultimately justifies the means; whether viewers will want to stick it out is another thing.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 29, 2016

Like its titular Guatemalan volcano, Jayro Bustamante's hypnotic film debut Ixcanul bubbles with the tension of a teenage girl at odds with her family's native customs, before erupting into a frantic and quietly devastating third act.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 26, 2016

Whether we're closely gazing at Maria or watching her stride along the ashy volcano's side from a distance, Bustamante lets images linger long enough for their beauty to fall away, giving us a compelling and tragic look at where our coffee comes from.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 25, 2016

It all looks fascinatingly foreign to American eyes, but Mara's story - about rebellion and consequences, oppression and heartbreak - is anything but.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 25, 2016

You can sense the director's respect for his subject in the movie's unhurried dramatic rhythms, its grounding in the earthy rituals of everyday life and its strong cast of nonprofessional Maya actors.

| Aug 25, 2016

"Ixcanul" provides a window into a culture that we rarely see. But it's not just an anthropological study - it has a powerful story to tell, too.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 25, 2016

A mesmerizing, understated tragedy.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 19, 2016

More than a fable about the clash of tradition and modernity, "Ixcanul" is finally a painful illustration of the ease with which those who have can prey on those who don't.

| Aug 18, 2016

All in all, this is an impressive debut, the complete absence of lava and ash clouds notwithstanding.

| Original Score: B | Aug 17, 2016

A work of tender long-take portraiture ...

| Aug 17, 2016

The film's structure, however stifling, is filled with gorgeous imagery and nuanced symbolism.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 14, 2016

A solid example of low-key, well-observed, humanistically sympathetic ethnography.

| Jul 26, 2016

A transporting, hypnotically beautiful debut feature from Guatemalan director Jayro Bustamante.

| Jul 26, 2016

[F]or those drawn to cinema from diverse origins, wishing to learn more about other cultures, Ixcanul is a delicious, strong brew.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 23, 2015