Totem: family tragedy is seen through the eyes of a child
Emotional maelstrom in film haunted by the spectre of death
Thursday, 30th November 2023 — By Dan Carrier
Naíma Sentíes (Sol) in Tótem [Limerencia Films]
TÓTEM
Directed by Lila Avilés
Certificate: 12a
☆☆☆☆
THE lingering and oppressive scent of death haunts every frame of this family drama that takes place on one day.
Sol (Naima Senties) is a cherub of an eight year old and we are taken into an emotional maelstrom through the eyes of child. Tucked away in a bedroom lies her father, Tona (Mateo García Elizondo), an artist and writer who is being given palliative care at home. His life is being cut short by an aggressive cancer.
We meet Sol and mother Lucia (Iazua Larios) and learn there is a party due to be held later in the day in Tona’s honour, which is a cue for plenty of fussing. It may well be his last, and everyone in this extended family is aware of the truth.
Sol’s home is full of love but also bereft: her father’s decline is marked and not helped by adults trying hard not to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
No one wants to talk about death with an eight year old, and this vacuum, this empty space, is filled with her own adventures.
Mother, aunts and other elders drop in and out to offer encouragement or to scold. Knees and hugs are given up as often as fists and slaps. The ambiguity keeps the narrative going and the viewer on their toes.
Crashes and bangs jolt you up and are easy on the eye – a good-looking film, if you can forgive the historic blunders and half truths from the bride and gloom.
There is a sense of maturity too about the story-telling, with Avilés going all-out to make everything natural and inclusive. She employs a light touch, with every scene feeling entirely unscripted. It makes for a messy film, but that fits with the subject matter.
This average Mexican family has a lot to say to each other and a wide and fruity way of doing so – the dialogue and to’ing and fro’ing is absorbing.
Sol is the stand out, showing a maturity in performance that also speaks volumes for the director’s approach, while she is ably supported by a cast who have a natural and easy-going way of portraying personal tragedy.
