NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (October 2022): Criterion have transferred Jayro Bustamante's La Llorona to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "2K digital master, approved by director Jayro Bustamante". Firstly, this shouldn't be confused with Ramón Peón's 1933 La Llorona - reviewed on Blu-ray HERE, and this film has no relationship to the US-made horror The Curse of La Llorona - also made in 2019.

The 1080P image quality is as good as you might anticipate for a modern film with a max'ed out bitrate. Nicolás Wong's cinematography is impressive and the HD presentation supports the many dark sequences. The transfer captures the dark, ominous, tone of the film with visual precision.

NOTE: We have added 38 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround track (24-bit) in the original Spanish language. La Llorona has sneaky and subtle separations that frequently augment the atmosphere. The score is by Pascual Reyes (Bustamante's Temblores.) He is a Mexican composer and frontman of a Rock band called 'San Pascualito Rey'. Included is the song La Llorona performed by Gaby Moreno. It sounds crisp, balanced and haunting via the lossless transfer. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray offers a new 22-minutes interview with Bustamante, recorded by Criterion, where he discusses La Llorona and genre filmmaking as a tool to explore Guatemala's history and reckon with its present. Also included is a 2022 documentary made by Jayro Bustamante's production company La Casa de Produccion, and is subtitled The Cries of a Wounded People. It offers an inside look into the making of La Llorona, featuring extensive interviews with the cast and crew. It runs 3/4 of an hour. Lastly, is an extended trailer for La Llorona that, in 2020, director Jayro Bustamante shot new footage with actor Maria Mercedes Coroy and also features a song created for the film by Grammy-nominated artist Gaby Moreno. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by journalist and novelist Francisco Goldman.

Jayro Bustamante's La Llorona is a beautifully realized, poetic, art-house feature utilizing the folkloric of a mythical, vengeful, ghost while marrying the supernatural with Guatemalan politic of the brutal genocide of native Mayans in the early 80s. It uses water as a theme with the ancient legend centering on the female apparition roaming waterfront areas mourning her children whom she drowned. The powerful, layered story and distinct style are brilliant offering a hypnotic film experience. The Criterion Blu-ray has impressive a/v and revealing extras. Certainly, this has our recommendation. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Gary Tooze