درب الرماد

source: Trail of Ashes

This is a disjointed film that uses religious symbolism. This has that Mel Gibson's Apocalypto vibe but that was action packed whereas this film is so much more reserved. I had high hopes for this but as I watched it just felt this is come short, which proved to be the case. The ending is a bit of a let down.

The Lothos Empire takes over the indigenous population and builds their capital city Num on the "tombs of their ancestors." Now in present time, they want to reclaim their country. Ran (Arturo Lizardi) impersonates a "Quill" who questions a prisoner about the disappearance of the daughter of the Empress, one of several girls to go missing. The film is filled with flashbacks and confusing scenes with little action or a decent plot. The accents were all over the place making understanding the feature a chore within itself, not how I like to watch films. Guide: No swearing. Brief sex. No nudity.

I was very anxious when I saw the trailer for this movie and now that I finally saw it, I found it to be a great job. I was hesitant when I saw a few of the reviews before about it being "boring" or a "slow burn" but I honestly enjoyed the film, the cinematography and great acting. It is obviously indie and they might have had a low budget but for this being their first Film, I think this was a well done job. Really looking forward to watching more productions from them.

I was very intrigued with the world the story is set in. The costumes, the ambience in general, the cultures, it all felt rich and left with plenty of room to explore. If the story were to continue, I think it would work better as a series, instead of a trilogy. This is not your regular action-adventure fantasy film. It is an indie-slow burn- mystery with little magic/sorcery (which is as much as I like anyways). Looking forward to explore more of this world.

I knew this was low budget while I was watching it but I didn't know HOW low budget it was. It is impressive that they managed to tell this story with less than 150k, so kudos to everyone involved. It looked great, the sound was awesome, and it had some good acting too, even if some of the accents were distracting. It was more slow and artsy than I was expecting, but not bad. Recommended if you're into this type of experimental films.

Amazing film. I had preordered it, started watching last night at midnight.... I couldn't stop watching til the very end. Landscape, actors, everything was amazing. Totally recommend

Keeping in mind that this is a completely local Puerto Rican production and that they were working with a very limited budged, this is an amazing film with an original premise and setting. The plot and world building are fantastic, but are limited by the lack of grand visuals common in many movies now. Without the headspace to fully flesh out the grand ideas on the script, viewers may be left disappointed when large plot points aren't as visually impactful as one may be used to. If you personally can get past this point, like I did, you will find a very enjoyable movie with a clear vision and good execution.

Nice dress for the queen, few nice views, but rest is not so impressive. Just check the trailer

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