Prayers for the Stolen (2021) User Reviews

This movie will make you cry

[darioz-99232 · 8/10 · 28 October 2021]

When I went to see this movie, I knew it was gonna be tough, but I didn't imagine it to make me cry that much. The story really goes to the heart.

Also, the child actors did a wonderful job!

Loss of childhood innocence: A living nightmare that just goes on and on...

[samxxxul · 7/10 · 15 November 2021]

Tatiana Huezo Sánchez who is best known for her documentaries, turns her attention to fiction with a coming of age drama based on Jennifer Clement's novel of the same title. It tells the story of Ana and her two best friends who discover a shocking reality - and a hostile world amidst the drug trafficking in Mexico. It gives a personal touch to something we hear at a distance on the internet. From the first moments of the film, Tatiana chooses to film this through the details, her camera focussing on the minutiae of the environment. She plunges us into an peaceful atmosphere, behind the lush green setup, we feel a discomfort and a lively tension underlying between the villagers. They depends on poppy harvest to make ends meet. There are semi-detached houses with hiding place and girls are made to sport boyish haircuts to escape from the eyes of human traffickers. There is absolutely no hope for the little girls and they tend to get worse as time goes on.

Initially, I was just expecting another usual documentary with realism tag, while storyline does follow the formula, its the treatment that appealed. It has a lot more than one would expect. It seems like a tearjearker war film, but when you dive into it you'll likely see a different pov. The pacing is easy and there is no rush on Tatiana's behalf to get to 'the story', as it were, but rather a strong sense of atmosphere and indulges the viewer through this lack of urgency. It contains an atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Dariela Ludlow Deloya. It is supported with subtle score by Jacobo Lieberman and Leonardo Heiblum. As well as adequate sound design by Lena Esquenazi.

Overall, it is a great proof that this film depicts childhood and adolescence of three girls is by no means exaggerated. It's blends early Jorge Silva, Marta Rodríguez, Alanis Obomsawin's style and is almost like a companion piece to Identifying Features (2020) and Birth Certificate (1961); both thoroughly bleak and does scream for help with no chance for hope.

Powerful

[atractiveeyes · 8/10 · 28 November 2021]

Mexico's official entry to 2022's Oscars is simple and slow-paced yet so emotional and tough. The story is heartbreaking, moving, flows smoothly and delivers so much feelings without any forced efforts. Performances are solid and real. Cinematography is stunning. It's not everyone's cup of tea though.

Good story, but...

[PedroPires90 · 6/10 · 28 November 2021]

A good story, a strong direction, very beautiful cinematography and convincing acting.

However, for some reason, I didn't feel the emotional impact I was supposed to. Even if the story is good, the plot is, for too many minutes, uneventful and that pace is an issue as almost removed all my interest on it. I also have some serious problems with the editing (some scenes drag a lot as mentioned but also some strange and incoherent cuts, especially in the classroom).

Astonishing. Excellent. Heartbreaking

[aarpcats · 10/10 · 12 December 2021]

Watching this movie reminded me of the blurry photographs of British children playing in the ruins of London during the Blitz. If a building were bombed today, the unsafe structure would be guarded by cops to keep the children from being buried in the rubble. But, when the city is being bombed every night, what's the difference in whether a child dies from bombíng or under a pile of loose bricks? War brings death and death becomes normal.

In the bucolic and gorgeous mountains of Jalisco, war is constant and unending. Flickering fire flies have been replaced by the lights of cell phones as villagers try desperately to get a call "to the other side" for money to leave. Staying means enslavement to the cartel and losing your daughters to brutal sex trafficking. Instead of bombs, the cartels and the useless police rain terror on the adults in the village. Everyone knows a dead girl, and everyone knows how to harvest opium. And everyone knows to run when the US helps Mexico spray chemicals on the poppy crops.

Yet, just as the London kids entertained themselves with soccer, school, story telling and friendships, so too do the children in the village in Jalisco. What terrifies their parents simply is business as usual to them. They can't help growing up in war, but they are growing up. They want to dance, go to rodeos, date - every day things that are death defying in Jalisco.

It's an excellent movie about how the human spirit survives the unthinkable.

I want to tie Americans to chairs to help them understand exactly what American drug habits, the War on Drugs and the crisis in Central America is doing to desperate, terrified people. I want them to understand that they aren't coming heee for handouts. I want them to understand that they are coming here to stay alive. I want them to see children burned with American pesticides.

The acting is astonishing, the cinematography brilliant and the story heartbreaking. And this story happens every day in Mexico.

Fails To Deliver The Emotional Impact It Was Aiming For

[CinemaClown · 2 May 2022]

Shedding light on the fearful existence & perilous life that women & children are forced to live in Mexican towns ravaged by drug trade, cartel violence & human trafficking, Prayers for the Stolen (Noche de fuego) captures this brutal reality through the coming-of-age journey of a young girl & her two best friends and makes for a gritty, affecting & heartbreaking slice of social realism.

Written & directed by Tatiana Huezo in her feature film debut, the film benefits from her earlier efforts as a documentarian as she utilises a similar raw style & uncompromising approach that adds a realistic touch & unflinching quality to the drama and allows it to unfold at its own pace while remote setting, grim atmosphere & sincere performances further strengthen the material.

However, the emotional impact the film was aiming for doesn't translate as well as it should've, for much of the plot remains uneventful, some scenes drag on for too long while others are cut earlier than expected, thus resulting in a picture that's harsh & harrowing in bits n pieces yet is unable to get under the skin. The film presents the difficult state of affairs but doesn't truly dig into it.

Overall, Prayers for the Stolen explores friendship, endurance, loss of innocence, cartel terror & endemic violence to give the audience an insight into the dark side of modern-day Mexico, and begins Huezo's feature filmmaking endeavours on a promising note if not a rewarding one. The performances are strong & gripping but the characters & situations depicted still required more development & fine tuning. Worth a shot anyway.

no innocence in this childhood

[ferguson-6 · 7/10 · 17 November 2021]

Greetings again from the darkness. This is Mexico's official Oscar submission for 2021 Best International Feature Film. Written and directed by Tatiana Huezo (her first narrative feature), the story is adapted from the 2014 best-selling novel by Jennifer Clement. It's an unusual film that lacks a traditional plot, and instead focuses on the daily lives within a small village in Mexico.

Young girls Ana, Paula, and Maria are good friends. They live in a poverty stricken area, and most of the males work in the quarry/mine or for the cartel, leaving women and children to make do scrounging for food and working in the poppy fields at harvest time. Rita (Mayra Batalla) is Ana's mother. She's a proud, hard-working woman who is very protective of her daughter. Why? Well the area is patrolled by the cartel, and neighbors regularly go 'missing' - especially young girls. When Ana shows up wearing lipstick, Rita doesn't find it cute. Instead she serves up a harsh reprimand to the girl too young to understand the risk.

Our view is from Ana's perspective, and there are two distinct halves. In the first, Ana and her friends are very young (likely between 7 and 9). When we flash forward, the girls are 13 or 14. As a youngster, Ana is played by Ana Cristina Ordonez Gonzales, and she cries when her mother chops off her long hair and styles it like a young boy. This is not done for punishment, but rather to make her less desirable to the cartel. Her friend Paula goes through the same ordeal, while Maria's cleft palate is deemed to serve the same purpose. As a teenager, Ana is played by Marya Membreno, and the haircut no longer hides her femininity, though her friend Maria faces a tough decision when medical assistance becomes available.

Director Huezo and the actors do a superb job in conveying the ever-present aura of danger hovering over the village. Rita digs a grave-like hole as a hiding place for Ana, and their strategy is put to use. In one particularly tense scene in conflict with the cartel, what keeps Rita alive is that she works in the poppy field - so she is viewed as an asset. As if possible starvation or abduction aren't enough to keep everyone worried, the poppy fields are sprayed with poison in an attempt to control the crops - only the poison gets dumped on the village instead, as the helicopter pilots have been bribed and threatened by the cartel.

This is a haunting film and we connect quickly with Rita and Ana. We feel the relentless pressure of living in an environment where the cloak of danger is always worn and constant fear is a part of daily life. School provides the girls with a glimmer of hope, although it's fleeting. This is no place for childhood innocence, and the responsibilities of parenting are almost beyond anyone's ability. Cinematographer Dariela Ludlow perfectly captures the images, the acting is terrific, and director Huezo has delivered a gem.

Available on Netflix beginning November 17, 2021.

One of the hardest films to watch now

[carlesmiquel · 10/10 · 20 November 2021]

Horror, even the weird and most brutal films are just that, scary films. Noche de Fuego, based on Jeniffer Clement's "Prayers for the Stolen" is a radical departure from films that tackle the world of drugs and its consequences. Tatiana Huezo's film is an introspective into the life of three children as they grow in a world of violence in the mountains of Mexico where most people work in the world of opium harvesting. Harrowing and crude, the film goes into the depths of humanity, seen from the eyes of three young girls who fear the possible threats of only "living" as kids. The performances are stunning. The casting is superb. The DP created a visual masterpiece. With Tati at the helm, this rollercoaster of a film, will keep you nailed to your seat as it will be engraved in your mind for years to come. At Cannes, the film had wild reviews but, above all, an audience who couldn't believe what they experienced through the first Festival that chose it. A complete success!

Prayers for the Stolen review

[bradh6886 · 6/10 · 17 January 2022]

PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN has the makings of a strong film about friendship and endurance, but suffers from some major pacing issues in the middle acts. Hard to connect to without a clear understanding of the events. One of the better youth ensembles of the year.

Innocence In A Land Of Corruption

[kevinodonnell-28212 · 9/10 · 18 November 2021]

A bittersweet innocence exists among a group of young girls growing up in a drug-controlled country. One viewing of this excellent film will convince even the most stubborn-minded of the main reason that some of Mexico's inhabitants are fleeing to America to seek a better life.

Could have been better told

[Horror_Flick_Fanatic · 7/10 · 3 May 2022]

It has an important story to tell about poor villagers and their children ravage by drug cartels. Unfortunately it doesn't communicate the emotional impact effectively.

Broke my heart

[dayanbardales · 10/10 · 20 November 2021]

Beautiful cinematography combined with a heart-wrenching story. It is one of those movies where less is more. The silence spoke for itself.

While the first half of the film was a lot stronger than the other half, it was definitely necessary for the story line.

A window to raw reality

[deepudp · 6/10 · 2 June 2022]

Well worked out and powerful plot. Although the execution level and acting lacked the prowess, the message deemed to be loud and clear.

Corruption, exploitation, drug abuse, Poverty, illiteracy and such vices continue to rule the roost in several societies even today.

The movie sheds light on such crude realities around us.

An eye opener stuff.

A bit too long with some unnecessary scenes.

[deloudelouvain · 5/10 · 15 September 2022]

Noche de Fuego (or Prayers for the Stolen for the English title, you wonder why they would just not translate it correctly as Night of Fire?) is a drama with pretty good cinematography and decent acting. But there were some scenes that just lasted too long, some scenes that should have been edited out, so I lost interest at one point. But I get it that there is an audience for this kind of dramas, I'm just not one of them. It's not a bad movie, my wife actually liked it much more than me, but the duration was just too long for me, certainly as there were a lot of moments that didn't bring much to the story. The ratings it gets on here are high, too high in my humble opinion.

Lack of development

[isaacochoterena · 6/10 · 21 November 2021]

This film lacks development of the situations that it shows us.

The film manages to represent the situation in which many communities in Mexico live and how the inhabitants there handle the situation, but the development of things is almost nil, there is no explanation or a more complete development of what happens, even seeming boring and slow. The story is not very remarkable, making the film slow and without much to say. The technical aspects are good, but I think that a good, well-developed story makes a movie so good and special, which this one doesn't have.

It's not bad, but I don't think it's the best Mexican movie of the year either.

Social Realism filmaking

[lionoflaredo · 8/10 · 22 December 2021]

Anna, Paula and Maria are three young girls growing up in a remote mountain town in the Mexican rainforest. Poppies are grown locally and harvested by the townspeople controlled by the Cartels. Life is precarious and the balance of power between Police, Cartel and Military is tenuous at best. This is impeccable Social Realist film with many captivating performances from non actors. If you like the genre you will like this one. 8/10.

Prayers for the Stolen

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 16 April 2024]

Yikes but this is quite a difficult film to watch. It's centred around three teenage girls who live amidst the poppy fields of Mexico. "Ana" (Maria Membreño) "Paula" (Alejandro Camacho) and "Maria" (Giselle Barrera Sánchez) try to live their lives as normally as they can, but the fact that their school teacher is leaving because he won't pay protection money to the drug pedlars gives us some indication of the society in which they live. Indeed, it's this teacher who raises the issue of a missing girl - and that enlightens us to the fact that once they reach a certain age, these young women have other "uses" and nobody dares speak out about it. The chronology flits between the current life of these three and their younger childhood and illustrates that for them, there is little hope of change unless they are prepared to leave - but that they don't want to do with out each other or their mothers (the fathers don't feature at all in this drama). The rather courageous role of motherhood is really well exemplified by Mayra Batalla's contribution as "Rita". A woman who treats her daughters first menstruation with a dread that the young girl does not yet appreciate the significance of. It's a beautifully photographed vicious circle, with the emphasis on vicious. There are attempts at government interventions, local troops stationed and helicopters depositing toxins on the flowers, but the thrust here from director Tatiana Huezo is of a cycle of depressing and dangerous inevitability that it is difficult to see a way out of. The three young actors perform evocatively here offering us quite emotional and poignant characterisations. They are not simply going to give up - but it's not that simple. Harrowing, yes, but it's clearly been written and presented offering hope for the girls and to raise some awareness of the fact that as long as the West keeps buying the stuff, these people will live in a modern day slavery that turns your stomach.

Very well made film

[alesordelt-812-665667 · 10/10 · 2 August 2022]

Touching film delicately and beautifully made. It brings you in the lives of people and their daily elements of life in the mountains. And story of a friendship. Very delicately acted and directed.

An important, but not great, film

[scaryjase-06161 · 6/10 · 31 March 2023]

I somehow doubt this was a film I'd have otherwise come across - and I can assure you that even if I had, there would have been no chance of me watching it. It's going to be bleak, isn't it?

Hmmm - it's not a barrel of laughs. We follow Rita and her daughter Ana as they try to live as normal a life as possible under somewhat trying circumstances. Not only do they live in a village so remote I can't even comprehend it, they also have men from the cartels coming to the village on a frequent basis to steal girls - just because they can. And well, some stuff happens - but not an awful lot, if I'm being honest. And then we jump forward some years (six?) and well, some more stuff happens with a more grown-up theme - but not an awful lot, it I'm being honest. Except at the very end, where all sorts happens - I didn't understand all of it, but I think it's not too spoiler-y to say that it doesn't end on the most optimistic of notes. Bizarrely, Wikipedia states "the movie closes with a travel scene" - which is true, I guess, but not exactly the whole point to it.

The nothingness is quite a heartfelt and poetic nothingness though, with the children just trying to enjoy their childhood but not really being able to because of the whole environment. And the contrast is provided well with the cartels being represented by jeeps (or even just the sound of jeeps) and referred to as "they" - the idea of something so sinister being so abstract works well. And the threat is pretty abstract as well - people are just "taken", with no need for details. And, as if that's not bad enough, there's also the government spraying the fields (and often the people) with pesticide - life is certainly not easy!

It's well acted - Ana is played by Ana Cristina Ordóñez González and Marya Membreño with her mother played by Mayra Batalla and they all do an excellent job at conveying a wide range of emotions, but always undercut by fear. Camila Gaal/Alejandra Camacho and Blanca Itzel Pérez Paula/Giselle Barrera Sánchez also do a good job as Ana's friends, Paula and Maria, with them all playing games designed to keep reality at bay.

It's written and directed by Tatiana Huezo (based on a book by the very unMexican sounding Jennifer Clement) and I'd have to say it's all very well filmed. There are some amazing shots (and sounds) of nature and also of the mining operation. There are also some nice surreal touches throughout the film as well including cows lying on beds, cows on fire and a scorpion in a plastic bottle. Another scene that stood out for me is a particularly lovely one where Ana is having her hair cut to hide like a boy to hide her from unwanted attention and she doesn't understand why and the tears flow freely - beautifully shot and acted. The other point to consider is that I expect there were plenty of unsavoury people that didn't want this film to be made, so that must have added to the difficulties - and it really is a very remote location as well.

This is an important film, telling a story I wasn't aware of and it does so in an effective and often beautiful way. Unfortunately, for the most part, it doesn't exactly tell it in an interesting way - most of the message could have been got across in about 15 minutes. And whilst I agree this wouldn't exactly make for the best film ever, I do feel there was probably more context that could have been explored - for example, Ana's dad is in America and there are other local towns that have made efforts to resist the cartels, and it would have been interesting to know a bit more on those fronts (but I guess that would have cost more to shoot).

So it's a partial recommendation from me - I'm pleased to have learned (a little bit) about the situation and it's a very worthy film, but I don't think it's a great film, even if it is well thought out and often beautiful.

Incoherent

[carvela35 · 4/10 · 22 December 2021]

Lack of veracity in what it means to live in a peasant community. The narcos are infiltrated in their lives. They ignore nothing and nothing goes unnoticed. The drama of hiding the girl is laughable. As there is no authority to stop them, they can reach the School. Kill the teacher and rape the girls. That is the Night and day of fire. Not the idiot car fire. You could tell from leagues that it was already junk when they burned it. Serious production defects. Children's clothes in real life are rags. It is a shameful film of the lowest level of our cinema. A Certain Look Award at Cannes. They must have been blind.

Probably better than any sleeping pill...

[forthetollferry · 1/10 · 30 December 2021]

Wow, whoever did this really outdid themselves - it's a total snoozefest. Just when I think I've seen the worst of the worst in terms of something that will bore my socks off, I manage to find something that descends to a new low, usually in tandem with high ratings, ironically. I'm sure this must have won awards for putting critics in a deep sleep because I can't imagine what possibly could have been the appeal in selecting it otherwise. Awful.

What !! 7.8 really ????.... Had no benefits or entertaining at all

[mohammadjalshowbaki · 2/10 · 15 January 2022]

I don't understand the whole story here, fair acting but very weak conversations, same scenes repeated again and again, very boring .... It's very obvious that its overreated 🤦🤦🤦 Wth this rate!!