After winning the Golden Lion in Venice for his last fiction film, From Afar (2015), Lorenzo Vigas returns to drama with a brutal and austere feature set in Mexico this time. With his film The Box (La Caja), Vigas returns to top-tier festivals such as Venice and San Sebastian.
Hatzín, an orphan who lives with his sick grandmother, travels north with the intention of getting hold of his father’s remains, found in a mass grave. On his journey, he meets Mario, a man whom he initially confuses with his deceased father. Mario takes him under his wing and Hatzín finds himself both fascinated and repelled by him, partly because of his new job, which consists of recruiting immigrants to work in large sweatshops, in poor conditions. Hatzín’s inner struggle to find out what kind of person he is just beginning.
Credits
Original Title: La Caja
Year: 2021
Runtime: 92′
Country: Mexico
Direction: Lorenzo Vigas
Screenplay: Lorenzo Vigas, Paula Markovitch
Cast: Hernán Mendoza, Hatzín Navarrete, Cristina Zulueta
Cinematography: Sergio Armstrong
Genre: Drama
Contact: The Match Factory
Wins & nominations
2021: Venice International Film Festival
2021: SSIFF – San Sebastián International Film Festival
2021: Palm Springs International Film Festival
