Land of Ashes

2019 ‘Ceniza Negra’ Directed by Sofía Quirós

Selva, thirteen years old, discovers that when we die we just shed our skin. We can turn into wolves, goats, shadows, or anything as long as your imagination allows it.

Smachleen Gutiérrez Humberto Samuels Hortensia Smith Keha Brown Yulius Melvin Brown Rudolf Adeysha Garrido Morales Krisly Hernández Harris Danna Murillo Carpio Celia Mure Bolívar Díaz Juan Enrique Palma Rodolfo Quirós Wanda Patterson César Sassaroli

Alternative Titles

Cendre Noire, Terra das cinzas, Fekete hamu, Zemlja pepela

drama

82 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Allison M. @ Slamdance 2021 🌱 ★★★

Cannes 2019
Film #17
The lead actress (Smashleen Gutiérrez) is beautiful, especially in her green dress. She has a peaceful yet engaging presence that evokes Monica Vitti from The Red Desert or Magaly Solier from The Milk of Sorrow. The movie is quiet and slow and doesn’t really stand out, but there are quiet moments in the journey like dancing and breathing that make this a competent film, at least.
Vegan alert:
There are some dead snakes.
Review by Maya ★★★★

"Morir significa cambiar de piel."
Land of Ashes is a poetic film with magical realism elements that deals with coping with death from the perspective of a thirteen-year-old poor girl living on the Caribbean coast with her grandfather. The film comes across as very natural and honest. The relationship between the main character and her grandfather is very recognisable. On the one hand, because Quiros creates beautiful, original and emotional conversations between the two that fit perfectly within the setting. On the other hand, the incredible acting skills of the non-professional actors create this feeling.
Beside, the image and sound use is very strong. Especially in the latter, this film excels. You can see that Sofia Quiros integrates her knowledge…
Review by Julian D ★★★★

A film with a thin narrative and sparse dialogue requires a strong direction, which Sofia Quiros gloriously delivers in Ceniza negra. The director studied Image and Sound Design and it's very noticable. Lots of detail put into the soundscapes and -especially the framing and movements of the- imagery. Mystical, calm, tender and with a lot of heart. A work of care and an atmosphere driven by our connection to nature. Very lovely performance by Smachleen Gutiérrez!
Review by Peter Dennis ★★★

It’s really hard to rate a movie like this . Smashleen Gutierrez gives an incredible performance for a young actress and pretty much carries the whole movie . You kind of just enjoyed hanging out in her world for the length of the movie .
The last scene with Elena was a clear highlight for me .
Review by Andres Loaiza Marks ★★★★★

Morir significa cambiar de piel.
Smachleen Gutiérrez logra actuar de forma muy natural y creíble. Cuesta creer que no tiene experiencia y que simplemente le dijeron "¿Le gustaría actuar en una película?"
Humberto Samuels representa historia en su piel, en sus ojos, en su respirar.
Es una película muy lenta con un propósito claro. Tiene tomas fuera del primer plano que se ven bellas y momentos muy intimistas que resuenan bastante sobre el silencio, las sombras y la marea. La vegetación, el mar, las ramas y las serpientes son bastante interesantes de ver supongo.
Un bonito ejemplo de cómo crear misticismo sin necesidad de efectos especiales. Una bella pequeña historia de Limón.
Review by BeBraveMorvern ★★★★★

"Imagine a crab made of sky," 13-year-old Selva muses, and it's a wild image that suits this sensual, mysterious coming-of-age tale. She's often alone in the frame against the ocean, sky, giant tree roots, sometimes dominant, sometimes dwarfed. She buries small dead animals with a friend with whom she communicates without any movement of their lips. There’s a sense of ritual throughout: the daily feeding of goats that aren’t there, the painting of faces, the piling of stones.
Plotwise, there's a disappearance, a funeral, and a communion with the dead depicted as flickering shadows on a cracked wall. Other than a fleeting moment of Selva noticing her own bleeding, her coming-of-age is defined by her relation to death and the wilderness. She…
Review by Sergi 💐 ★★★★

Ceniza negra logra alcanzar un grado de autenticidad en su narración bastante hermoso gracias a su ritmo lento que permite a la directora Sofia Quiros explorar con paciencia y cariño la vida cotidiana costarricense particularmente aquella realidad limonense. Hay una cierta importancia puesta sobre las texturas y al diseño sonoro que lo sumergen a uno a la historia siendo narrada y su mundo ocasionalmente fantástico que lo convierte en una experiencia bastante hipnótica de principio a fin. Todo esto esta hecho en funcion para poder crear un dialogo entre la vejez y la juventud como una manera de buscar las diferencias entre estar vivo y muerto que llega a ser bastante emotivo cuando todo culmina al final. Mas aya de…
Review by Dionar ★★★½

La ópera prima de Sofía Quirós, es sin dudas una de las películas costarricense más hermosa que he visto. Si hay un punto donde el filme brilla es su fotografía, misma que aporta bastante a la historia, sus imágenes son frías, húmedas y al mismo tiempo se sienten que hay algo más en el ambiente que rodea a Selva.
Otro punto muy notable es que la directora logra crear en todo momento esa atmósfera de realismo mágico casi vanguardista que va explorando la vida de su joven protagonista.
El filme explorá un coming of age pero en este caso tropical, y al mismo tiempo interrumpido debido a los trágicos sucesos que le van ocurriendo a Selva.
La película falla en algunos tonos y ritmos, y en algunas decisiones de montaje que por momento no les ayuda, ya que hace que por momentos falle la naturalidad que uno espera.
Review by Mitch ★★★

Really interesting film with some STUNNING imagery. Lacks a bit in story in my
opinion but becomes much more engaging in the last 30 minutes.
Review by Serge B ★★½

Tired of this supposedly contemplative story fascinations that only manage to portray good moments, never a cohesive or mildly interesting narrative throughout. Still, there is good intention here, I just wasn’t convinced.
Review by Gabriel R. ★★

COSTA RICA 🇨🇷 ENTRY FOR THE OSCARS OF BEST FOREIGN FILM 2021
I feel that, as someone that had a good relationship with all my grandparents, and lost most of them... I was supposed to get more emotional with this movie. I mean, the great moments here is when Selva (Smashleen Gutiérrez) interects with them, not only in the happy moments where they dance and are silly but in the somber one's too, moments as when she asks her grandfather about death.
But, in the many in between moments I don't know if it's the pace or the mundane of the storie... the film drags and becames a little bit depressing. And real life is well depressing enough for me to care.
Anyway... it's still beautifully shot and the Smashleen is a good young actress.
Review by Robin Quiñones ★★★½

A little tough to sit through even for its short running time but there are gorgeous moments of magical realism spread all throughout that's enough to capture the attention. Smashleen Gutiérrez is so beautiful.

Recent reviews

Review by Zoltan Gal ★★★½

magikus realizmus amikor nem trendi bloffkent hasznaljak az arthouse alkotok hanem csak halvany plusz tonusokat adnak egy egyebkent is egzotikus intim, elmulasrol felnovesrol szolo kepeslapnak. costa rica, ahol a nagyi is meno reggaetonra nyomja, a kigyobol leves keszul es nem lehet eldonteni h a tenger vegtelen keksege vagy a dzsungel buja zoldje a vonzobb. az amator (?) 13 eves lany valoban varazslatos
Review by vixo ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

sí o sí de los mejores coming of age latinos que hay es que EL SONIDO DE LAS CABRAS AL FINAL !! la película entera es tan inteligente y tan sensible i’m 😭
Review by Irvin Malcolm ★★★½

A thirteen year old girl is forced to take care of her ailing grandfather after her mother mysteriously disappears. This is the Best International Feature Oscar entry from Costa Rica (I believe this is my first Costa Rican film, I may be wrong) and its style and tone sort of reminds me of another Oscar nominated International Feature, The Milk of Sorrow, as well as the films of Apichatpong Weerasetkathul. It is beautifully shot and takes on a sort magical-realist quality to it that can be intoxicating in parts and as well as distancing. It doesn't always completely work but I loved the ending and director Sofia Quiros definitely has talent and I respect the craft. It's worth a look.
Review by David_Bautista ★★½

2.6
Review by Paulo Soares ★★★½

Belo filme do Cinema Costa Riquenho, que ao seu tempo, no seu ritmo, conta uma história de amadurecimento e conexões. Um filme sobre a passagem da vida e o saber se despedir quando é o momento.
Ao seu redor paira uma bem ilustrada relação espiritual com a natureza e as tradições de uma cultura, e tomado de grande sensibilidade, dos seus barulhos aos seus silêncios, esse filme toca de uma forma inesperada.
Review by Daniel Castañeda Molina ★★½

Creo que el cine colombiano reciente me ha hecho repudiar este estilo de películas.
Review by lrsscnt ★★★★★

um filme delicado que aborda a temática da morte. atuações belíssimas e tocantes.
Review by Rebeca Cadena ★★★★½

Película preciosa. Me hubiese encantado ver esto en el cine.
El sonido de las ranas, los tuqueques, los grillos, todo lo que vuela, hace gran parte de la atmósfera. Puedes sentir la humedad de la selva, el clima pegajoso, el sonido y el olor del mar... Las escenas con los abuelos son los momentos más bonitos de la película, especialmente con Tata, ser tan sabio y tan tierno, una cabrita. Me hace recordar a los míos y a mi abuela en Venezuela, solita, como Selva.
Ni hablar de la actuación de Smashleen que lo hace divinamente y la dirección de Sofía Quirós a quien hay que seguirle el rastro.
Review by Andrea Ansaldo ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Sofía Quirós scrive e dirige un'opera prima delicata e sognante che ci costringe a prestare attenzione ai suoni della natura e a lasciare da parte le nostre idee sulla vita e sulla morte. La MDP sceglie di alternare realtà e sogno senza mai essere didascalica, anche perchè non c'è mai una netta separazione tra le due dimensioni. Ci sono dettagli dedicati a terra e animali, campi sconfinati dedicati al mare e altri che quasi inghiottono i personaggi. Con l'avanzare dei minuti ci si rende conto che in Land of Ashes nulla è definitivo, anzi, tutto è in costante mutamento, come la pelle del serpente. Il film si fonda sul suo simbolismo, forte del fatto di essere accessibile e complesso allo…
Review by Gabriel R. ★★

COSTA RICA 🇨🇷 ENTRY FOR THE OSCARS OF BEST FOREIGN FILM 2021
I feel that, as someone that had a good relationship with all my grandparents, and lost most of them... I was supposed to get more emotional with this movie. I mean, the great moments here is when Selva (Smashleen Gutiérrez) interects with them, not only in the happy moments where they dance and are silly but in the somber one's too, moments as when she asks her grandfather about death.
But, in the many in between moments I don't know if it's the pace or the mundane of the storie... the film drags and becames a little bit depressing. And real life is well depressing enough for me to care.
Anyway... it's still beautifully shot and the Smashleen is a good young actress.
Review by Michela

There were some cool shots.
Review by David Trujillo

Es la segunda película costarricense que veo, o al menos de este estilo.
Atentos con las producciones de la tierra de la pura vida porque sus atmósferas selváticas tienen propiedades curativas. No lo digo yo, lo dice ลุงบุญมีระลึกชาติ.