Sayen

This was well done, and the lead actress was very good. On Prime, this defaults to English dubbing, be sure to change the setting to Spanish with subtitles. The habit of English dubbing for American viewers is a travesty and always ruins the movie. Lovely cinematography and a great way to see places we otherwise will never see. Loved the use of local modern music to remind us that this is happening now, just as it did throughout history. Hopefully, movies like this will help educate and deter unwanted development in remote and important ecosystems. I do hope for a sequel with this talented actress, will watch for it.

I thought the idea of the storyline was good so gave it a go.

As with many of these so called movies today, it seems to be all about pumping out a movie without spending much money on good writers or directors.

The acting could have been better but it was okay.

I find that the story lacked depth and left you hanging with no win or defeat. This story had potential to be really good if the producers would have just given it some guts and backbone.

At least the main antagonist got his just desserts. But what about justice for her grandmother and her people.

I'm really starting to hate prime and Netflix because of these half baked movies that leave you unfulfilled.

The film is a visual treat. I did not know Chile was so beautiful. The story has some of the usual tropes of the underdog fighting the system, but it's presented differently. The protagonist is a strong tribal woman; not once does the movie somehow contrive to get her to take off her clothes to give fan service. She stays in character throughout as an intense yet sensitive woman bent on gaining justice for herself and her people.

The cast is fairly small, but does the job well. For me (who has never been to South America or the Western Hemisphere), it was interesting to see the tribal celebrations and the very colourful people and culture.

The screenplay could be slightly more polished, or maybe it makes some assumptions about cultural knowledge. But it was still a good action movie with a different kind of protagonist.

If it were a regular Hollywood movie, I would give it something like 7.5 stars. But the visual beauty and exposure to a new culture and film industry adds a little more novelty to it for me.

Whether this was a deep view into the indigenous culture of South America, I cant say, but the film makes a first approach by showing many different types of character: the bravery and dignity of Sayen's grandmother (who steals the show), Sayen's bravery and integrity, even a sellout - in the company's guide, and a non-warrior who shows the way to fight as a journalist. The subject matter is especially relevant today, so the film gets points for that.

A shame that the film did not give more closure with the ending. We hope for a better resolution in the sequel, but unfortunately, that might be the point that the film veers from reality.

All in all the film is not as bad as the official reviews say. It will be interesting to see how it continues.

This film could have been truly excellent. It explores concepts that have the potential to truly broaden the mind through cinema. But lacks any sort of concerted effort to truly delve into the subject matter it portrays.

Sayen as a character is interesting, her internal moral conflict as to whether or not to solve her problems through violence/aggression versus political action/media exposure is an interesting struggle to watch but it's completely glossed over. It's mentioned once, maybe twice, and then ignored. Her fight for not only herself but for her people is something that also could have been explored but they fail this as well.

The antagonist, Antonio. This is where they truly dropped the ball. Arón Piper's performance is great, however the script they gave him to work with is abysmal. Antonio as a character had the potential to be riveting and engrossing. The film had the opportunity to truly explore his battle with addiction. His struggle with mental illness, and his strained relationship with his father. We, as the audience, could've watched him fight through his internal struggles and battle with his demons as he reckons with himself what must be done. But nope, none of that. He's just "bad rich guy mean to poor girl". And that's it. It's sad to see honestly as he was developed halfway and could've been great if they just didn't half do it the way they did. Somehow it's worse when characters could have been great but end up shallow, rather than when were terrible form start to finish. Sayen as a film sadly fall into the former.

Sayen, is a film that truly could've been something special, but falls flat with a rushed pace, shallow characters, and a plot with very little surprise.