Music has long been known to bring people together irrespective of language barriers, and few situations require people to come together as crucially as those in which our lives are at stake. Based on a real life hostage incident in Peru, Bel Canto (“beautiful song”) was originally a book written by Ann Patchett about this…
Writer-director Jayro Bustamante’s absorbing and revealing debut feature, Ixcanul, paints a disturbing portrait that crosses the fine line between tradition and exploitation in the name of the Guatemalan children sacrificed to uphold economical expectations among other considerations. The indigenous existences of children globally are jeopardized through ritualistic justifications that many find vehemently inexcusable and horrifying….
