Diego Luna returns behind the camera to direct Ashes in the Mouth, an adaptation of Brenda Navarro’s novel of the same name, a story about migration, uprooting and family that unfolds between Mexico and Spain. The film follows Lucila (Anna Díaz), a young Mexican woman who arrives in Madrid with her brother Diego (Sergio Bautista) to reunite with their mother, Isabel (Adriana Paz), who has been living in Spain for years. What begins as the reunion of a family separated by distance soon reveals the consequences of all those years of absence.
Luna builds an intimate drama around a story that is not new to cinema: that of those who leave their country in search of a better life and those who stay behind. But Ashes in the Mouth is not limited to portraying the difficulties of emigrating. Precariousness, low-paid jobs, racism, or the feeling of not belonging coexist with a look at families left split by distance and at the bonds that are broken or transformed when one of their members decides to leave.
A family marked by absences
The starting point of the film is especially interesting because migration does not appear as an isolated event, but as something that conditions the life of all the characters. Lucila has grown up without her mother and has had to assume responsibilities too soon. When she reunites with her, the physical distance has disappeared, but the emotional one remains. It is not easy to suddenly recover the years that have not been lived together. Added to this story is a family tragedy that runs through the narrative and adds a new layer to the conflict. The film thus speaks of loss, guilt, and all that can go unsaid between those who love each other.
At the center of it all is Anna Díaz, who delivers a magnificent performance as Lucila. The actress sustains much of the film from a character that could easily have become an archetypal migrant victim. It does not happen. Lucila is filled with rage, contradictions, a sense of humor, and also the will to move forward.
Ashes in the Mouth
Her performance stands out especially in the quietest moments. There is much happening in her face and in the way she relates to others, without needing to verbalize constantly what she feels. The result is a protagonist we understand and empathize with. Anna Díaz manages to make Lucila stop being the representation of a social problem and become a concrete person, with a story and personal wounds.
Although the film is permeated by loss and difficulties, one of its greatest strengths is that it does not present migration as a succession of misfortunes. There are moments of relief, friendship, and affection that help broaden the view. Especially important is the network of friends that Lucila builds, a group of women who ends up becoming an alternative family and who provides her with a support network that she often does not find within hers. The bond she forms with the woman she cares for also works. The relationship begins in a work context, but ends up transforming into a space of companionship and affection. They are small bonds that bring a different perspective to the story: migrating can also mean meeting other people, building community, and finding support far from those we leave behind.
Ashes in the Mouth
The film does not tell anything particularly novel about migration. Its conflicts are recognizable and some of them could have been developed more deeply. However, the film finds its principal value in the way it approaches them from intimacy. More than explaining what it means to emigrate, it makes the viewer accompany someone who has to do it and understand, even if only for a while, everything that starting over entails.
Luna signs a film that, without uncovering anything new about migration, manages to approach it from an intimate perspective and make the viewer understand its difficulties. Ashes in the Mouth speaks of precariousness, racism, the distance from family, absences, and the difficulty of starting over far from home. And it does so without forgetting that, even amidst all that, there are moments of friendship, affection and companionship. A film that perhaps does not change the way migration is told, but does manage something important: that during its runtime we understand a little better what it means to live it.
