Hello and welcome back to another weekly Movie and TV Review!

I’m writing this weeeeeeeeeeeks after the original posting date, and for that, I’m sorry. But in honor of the Easter holiday, I thought, why not give it another go?

If you guys have movie suggestions, please offer them up. I’d like to start reviewing again.

But anypoops, this week we’re looking at the film Ixcanul Volcano, set in rural-rural Guatemala. I’m talking people living straight off the land; whatever you harvest is what you live off.

I imagine Ixcanul Volcano is the story of Mary and Joseph. Though, to Joseph’s credit, I don’t think he was quite the turd wipe to Mary that Ignacio is to Maria.

Now let’s get into it.

Maria, the only child of Juana and her husband, looks to be around sixteen years old and is considered ready for marriage.

The man in question?

Old man Ignacio—a widower with three children who appears interested in making more.

Side Note

Who came up with the idea of marrying young daughters off to men twice their age?

Or worse, men old enough to be their grandfathers?

Sure, you could argue that marrying a man in his prime might set her up financially for life, but who actually wants that life?

To remain on the land and keep their home, Maria is essentially sold off to Ignacio.

I felt overwhelming sadness for her.

She seemed less like a blushing bride and more like a condemned prisoner marching toward her doom.

It made me think about my own life.

It’s wild to realize that by twenty or twenty-five, I probably would have been married with children if I had stayed in Nigeria.

I’m not disparaging marriage or people who are married, but knowing myself at that age, I had no business even flirting with the idea.

Even now, I question the wisdom of marriage while I’m still working through childhood hurts.

At the very least, I’d hope there would be affection between me and the mystery man.

In Maria’s case, when she was asked whether she loved Ignacio, she didn’t answer.

And no one cared.

Pepe

Now let’s talk about Pepe—the cuckoo who fled the nest.

Pepe is a scoundrel and a rat.

He got Maria pregnant and ran before he even knew.

But one thing I envy is his fighting spirit.

The man would’ve given 50 Cent a run for his money living by the phrase:

Get rich or die trying.

If border patrol caught him once, I’m convinced he’d try again and again in pursuit of a better life in the United States.

What else is left for him?

Drinking himself to death in a country that feels stuck?

Final Thoughts

Sex education clearly isn’t a thing in this community.

They pray to the Trinity, honor ancestral spirits, and seek shamans for dangerous advice.

It’s heartbreaking and complicated at the same time.

In Maria, I saw a young woman curious about sex and curious about what life might feel like beyond a coffee plantation.

She wanted more than a life spent performing the duties of wife and mother for a man likely living a double life in the city.

She took her shot.

And she missed.

Anypoops, I give Ixcanul Volcano a fresh rose.

For all its sadness, it’s certainly open and honest about the realities of life.