Luz, La Fleur du Mal

Stylistically beautiful with an incredible colour palet and haunting score. It is a film to let wash over you; there are some very disturbing moments but it is not a jump scare horror, rather it is a slow immersion into a wonderfully unsettling experience.

Luz: The Flower of Evil (2019) This Colombian film is a beautiful and scary work of art. The feature debut of Juan Diego Escobar Alzate who has done television work and short films previously, it is assured and bewitching. Taking place in the remote mountains. We are never sure where or when. One of the girls finds a cassette recorder in the woods, so it must be late 20th century or later. They live a primitive life, horses for transportation, no electricity, and no indoor running water. The community is basically a cult, run by El Señor. Besides his daughter and two other girls in his household, he has a boy chained in a pen outside. He says the boy is Jesus. But he has had other boys who didn't prove to be the Messiah. El Señor rules the community with an iron hand, but the girls are beginning to see through his prophet act. Other villagers are starting to stray in various ways. As real life intrudes, El Señor begins to lose control. And the boy in the pen definitely is not Jesus...

Caught LUZ at the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival. I went into it hoping my most anticipated movie of the Festival would make the wait worth it. To say it did so is a vast understatement!! This movie is simply unbelievable. Some people won't like it. Some people will argue endlessly about all the possibilities and concepts raised. Me- I'm absolutely mesmerized by LUZ. Easily one of the most beautiful films, frame after frame after frame, that I've ever seen. Certainly one which is interested in weighty questions that have no true answers, except for what we make of them, and our world. I said it after the screening, I see lots of Terrence Malick in this incredible film, and Stanley Kubrick too. Amidst the gorgeous imagery, there are also scenes of savage brutality that tear right into the ideas & beliefs being explored. This is why I attend these Festivals! Thank you to director Juan Diego Escobar Alzate, and the whole team responsible for bring LUZ to life! Don't miss this one!!

Juan Diego Escobar Alzate makes a remarkable feature film debut as director and writer. Beautifully shot and well acted by a cast, with whom I am not familiar. I was fortunate enough to see this thanks to the folks at Horrible Imaginings Film Fest earlier this year.

El Senor is a father and leader of a small religious cult in the mountains of Columbia. To be honest, since we see the people mostly using older technology, except for some modern firearms, I had thought this was actually some near future dystopia. My bad on that!

El Senor believes that he can bring about salvation, by discovering the reincarnation of Christ, in young boys he brings to his compound and keeps locked up. Much of the tale deals with the increasing madness of this man and his daughter's discovery that much of what he has been telling them are lies.

The cinematography in this movie is one of the highlights, with shots of the night sky, waterfalls and the overwhelming landscape. The isolation of the family and those around them is evident, as we see how vast the world outside their small farms really is.

This is a dark film and one in which we can debate the ending and the fates of the characters. Highly recommended.

Juan Diego Escobar Alzate has created a visual masterpiece with this 104 minute folk horror feature film. I first viewed LUZ: the flower of evil at the Buffalo Dreams Film Festival 2020. Not only is the imagery captured visually stunning, the soundtrack moves the viewer through each frame and scene effortlessly flowing between emotions. The canvas that is painted by the natural light of the sky and each choice made regarding the actor's costuming and set design are with such detail. There is an ebb and flow constantly between the very dark parts and this of the light. The Dark gets very, very dark. I intentionally rewatched the film on DVD just to view with out subtitles (with a friend who was able to not miss a beat of the story). It really says something when a viewer can simply watch and understand most of the film "sin palabras"/without words. LUZ may leave you with much to ponder. LUZ may leave you without words. Thank you and much success to the team Afasia Films, all the actors and crew that worked so hard to create ~LUZ~.