Film #16 — 1/1 Film from a Mexican or Central American Director; 4/6 Countries (Mexico)
Also filed under: A-One
By C. Ramsay
The short, introductory scene that kicks this film off is a perfect encapsulation of the atmosphere the rest of the film carries. Being unclear about the larger context, the audience is met with a child wandering the darkness of a home with a single candle, her intentions unknown but undeniably fixed. She walks slowly but resolutely, her steps at pace with the score, which is already swelling. Unwaveringly, she slices the throat of an adult who is surprised by her entrance into their room, their blood lavishly red against the backdrop of an otherwise black and white scene. The girl grins as the blood begins to pool, and the opening credits are queued into rolling. The colour grading for the remainder of the film is rich and vibrant.
Full of gothic melodramatic flair, the film centres around two young girls and their developing friendship: Veronica, an orphan with a penchant for witchcraft living with her nanny and sick grandmother, and Flavia, a wealthy atheist who comes from a loving home but joins the school mid-semester and is too shy to make friends aside from Veronica. In an effort to impress Flavia, Veronica begins trying to convince her that she’s a witch who wields great power, which both interests and scares the new girl. Though some of the spats between the kids seem comedic and overly juvenile, the film frames any tension between them not as a punchline, but out of understanding that from the girls’ perspectives the intensity is justified, even if it’s also humorous.
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