The Elusive Heart of 'Ashes': A Director's Struggle with Narrative
It’s always a curious thing when a film, particularly one helmed by a director known for his compelling performances on screen, feels like it’s fumbling for its own narrative pulse. Diego Luna’s latest directorial effort, ‘Ashes,’ based on Brenda Navarro’s novel ‘Ceniza en la boca,’ presents a prime example of this disconnect. Personally, I think the film grapples with a profound story of migration and identity, but it often feels like it’s lost in translation, leaving the audience to piece together an emotional mosaic that never quite forms a complete picture.
What makes this particularly fascinating is Luna’s proven ability to draw out powerful performances. Anna Diaz, in the central role of Lucila, is an absolute revelation. She embodies the character’s journey with a captivating mix of youthful exuberance, burgeoning sensuality, and a deep well of grief. You can see her trying to anchor the film, imbuing Lucila with a vibrant, complex inner life. However, and this is where my commentary really kicks in, her stellar work often feels like it's compensating for a directorial approach that prioritizes breadth over depth, leaving the emotional underpinnings feeling underdeveloped.
From my perspective, the film’s most significant stumble is its chronological disarray. We're introduced to Lucila and her brother being left by their mother, a moment that should resonate with profound emotional weight. Yet, the film rushes past this pivotal scene, catapulting us a decade into Lucila's young adulthood in Spain with barely a moment for reflection. This rapid-fire progression, while perhaps an attempt to mirror the disorienting nature of migration, ultimately dilutes the impact of key developments. It feels less like a cohesive story and more like a series of snapshots, where the emotional context is often implied rather than deeply felt.
One thing that immediately stands out is the film’s episodic nature. We flit between Lucila’s various roles – nanny, delivery driver, friend – and her evolving romantic life. While these elements are crucial to understanding her existence on the margins, the film struggles to weave them into a truly cohesive familial narrative. Information about her mother’s new life or her brother’s struggles at school is presented with a certain economy, but it lacks the richness that would allow us to truly connect with the fractured home life. What this really suggests is a missed opportunity to explore the psychological toll of displacement and the complex bonds that hold families together, even when geographically separated.
What many people don't realize is how challenging it is to balance multiple narrative threads without losing sight of the central emotional arc. Luna’s direction, while often drawn to Diaz’s compelling presence, sometimes feels adrift, unsure of where to focus its attention. The framing of Lucila’s mother, for instance, is often indecisive, leaving her feeling like a spectral presence rather than a fully realized character. This indecision in visual storytelling, in my opinion, mirrors the film’s broader struggle to commit to a clear emotional through-line.
The film’s late-stage return to Mexico, intended to explore the evolving concept of ‘home,’ feels tonally and visually disconnected. While it’s an interesting thematic idea, its execution falls short. The emotional journey Lucila undertakes during this trip is left too vague, relying heavily on Diaz’s performance to convey a sense of melancholy that the narrative itself doesn't fully support. If you take a step back and think about it, this ending feels like a missed opportunity to tie together the disparate threads of Lucila’s experience, leaving the audience with a sense of what could have been.
Ultimately, ‘Ashes’ is a film that shines a light on a compelling subject and features a truly remarkable lead performance. However, its meandering narrative and underdeveloped emotional core leave it feeling like a story that, much like its protagonist, is still searching for its true home. It’s a testament to Anna Diaz’s talent that the film is even watchable, but it leaves me pondering what a more focused directorial vision might have achieved.
