After Lucia (Spanish: Después de Lucía) is a 2012 Mexican drama film directed by Michel Franco.[1] The film competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival[2][3] where it won the top prize.[4] The film was also selected as the Mexican entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.[5] The style of the film has been described as being influenced by Austrian director Michael Haneke.[6][7]
| After Lucia | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Michel Franco |
| Produced by | Michel Franco Marco Polo Constandse Elías Menassé Fernando Rovzar Alexis Fridman. |
| Starring | Tessa Ía González Norvind |
| Cinematography | Chuy Chávez |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | Mexico |
| Language | Spanish |
Plot
editRoberto is depressed after his wife, Lucía, dies in a road accident. He decides to leave Puerto Vallarta and move to Mexico City with his 17-year-old daughter, Alejandra. Settling into her new school, Alejandra goes to a party one night with her classmates. At the party, she has sex with José, who films the encounter on his phone. The next day the footage has been circulated around the school, with Alejandra getting text messages calling her a slut. This provides an excuse for fellow students to bully and sexually harass her. She does not speak of these incidents to anyone.
The school organises a trip to Veracruz which all students must attend. At the resort, each room is shared by groups of four. Alejandra is bullied again into going into the shower by her female roommates. They then block the door of the bathroom. At night, while the rest of the students enjoy a party in the main room, the boys take turns to enter the bathroom and rape her.
The students then go to the beach to continue the party. When it ends, Alejandra is asleep on the beach as one of the boys urinates on her. One of the female students suggests she should go into the sea to wash herself. The rest join her and they have fun in the water. Alejandra disappears and the rest become anxious about repercussions. The next morning, the teachers discover she is missing and alert her father. He finds out about the bullying and is frustrated when the police cannot take action, as the crimes have been committed by minors.
Unbeknown to everyone, Alejandra is safe in a building where she went to sleep. Meanwhile, her father follows a car driven by José's father and kidnaps José after his father went to park his car. He ties Jose's hands behind his back and gags him. He drives to the coast where he hires a boat and takes José out to sea where he throws him overboard, before starting the engine again and continuing to ride in the sea.
Cast
edit- Tessa Ía González Norvind as Alejandra
- Hernán Mendoza as Roberto
- Gonzalo Vega Sisto as José
- Tamara Yazbek Bernal as Tamara
- Paloma Cervantes as Irene
- Juan Carlos Barranco as Manuel
- Francisco Rueda as Javier
- Diego Canales
Reception
editCritical response
editAfter Lucia has an approval rating of 86% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 7 reviews, and an average rating of 9/10.[8]
Accolades
edit| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | Prize of Un Certain Regard | Won[4] | |
| Chicago International Film Festival | Silver Hugo Special Jury Prize | Won[9] | |
| Young Artist Award | Best Performance in an International Feature Film - Young Actress | Tessa la González | Nominated[10] |
| Havana Film Festival | Best Director | Won[11] | |
| San Sebastián International Film Festival | Horizons Award - Special Mention | Won[12] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Después de Lucía". semanarioguia. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ^ "2012 Official Selection". Cannes. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ^ "Screenrush Guide to the 2012 Festival de Cannes". Screenrush. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ^ a b Cannes (27 May 2012). "Awards 2012". festival-cannes.fr. Cannes Film Festival. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ^ Young, James (20 September 2012). "'Mexico picks 'Lucia' for Oscar". Variety. Reed Business Information. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
- ^ "After Lucia review". Miami.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ^ "After Lucia review". Leeds Film Festival. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ^ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/after_lucia_2012
- ^ "Chicago International Film Festival Sets Competition Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. October 2015. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ "34th Annual Young Artist Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
- ^ "After Lucia". Film Affinity. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ "Michel Franco, President of the Jury for the Competition Programme - Feature Film". Sarajevo Film Festival. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
External links
edit- After Lucia at IMDb