The Echo (Spanish: El eco) is a 2023 Mexican-German docufiction film directed by Tatiana Huezo. The film, which also includes fictional elements, portrays the children of an isolated village "El Echo", in the Mexican highlands.[2][3] The film is co-produced by Germany, and was selected to receive its world premiere in the Encounters section of the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, on 17 February 2023.[4][5] On December 7, it appeared in the eligible list for consideration of Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film for the 96th Academy Awards.[6]
The Echo | |
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![]() Official poster | |
El Echo | |
Directed by | Tatiana Huezo |
Screenplay by | Tatiana Huezo |
Produced by |
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Cinematography | Ernesto Pardo |
Edited by |
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Music by |
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Production company |
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Distributed by | The Match Factory |
Release date |
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Running time | 102 minutes[1] |
Countries |
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Language | Spanish |
Plot
editEl Echo, a remote village in Puebla, the Mexican highlands, where conditions change drastically between seasons, the children tend to the sheep and take care of their elders. Dealing with the frost and drought, the children learn to understand death, illness, and love from every word and every silence of their parents. The Echo is a story about the echo of what lies in the soul, about the certainty of warmth from those around us, "about rebellion and vertigo in the face of life" and "about growing up".[7]
Cast
edit- Montserrat Hernández Hernández as Montse
- María de los Ángeles Pacheco Tapia as Abuela Angeles
- Luz María Vázquez González as Luz Ma
- Sarahí Rojas Hernández as Sarahí
- William Antonio Vázquez González as Toño
- Uriel Hernández Hernández as Uriel
- Ramiro Hernández Hernández as Ramiro
- Berenice Cortés Muñoz as Bere
- Andrea González Lima as Andrea
Production
editThe film is the fifth feature film by Tatiana Huezo. Her two previous documentaries, El lugar más pequeño (2011) and Tempestad (2016), with this film forms a "trilogy of pain and trauma". She followed three families for one full year in the remote village in Mexico to film the project.[7]
Release
editThe film was invited to Horizons section of 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it was screened on 30 June 2023.[8] It was also invited to the 27th Lima Film Festival for competing in Documentary section, where it was screened on 12 August 2023.[9] The film also made it to 'Latin Horizons' section of the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival held from 22 to 30 September 2023.[10]
The film was screened at 2023 BFI London Film Festival in 'Strand' section under 'Journey' theme on 8 October;[11] and on 20 October at the Vienna International Film Festival in Features section.[12]
Reception
editCritical response
editOn the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10.[13] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 91 out of 100 based on 5 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[14]
Guy Lodge reviewing at Berlin Film Festival, for Variety wrote, "This exquisitely textured film observes how children’s lives echo those of their parents, repeating for generations on the same constantly inconstant land, until somebody breaks the pattern." Lodge stated that Tatiana Huezo "observes this splintering community with unsentimental tenderness". He opined that the traditionally-inflected score of Leonardo Heiblum and Jacobo Lieberman occasionally sweetened the proceedings. Concluding, he said, "At the close, a hot white slice of lightning breaks the screen, signaling relief after a lengthy drought, but hardly an idealized long-term solution to the greater generational problems facing El Eco."[15] Sheri Linden for The Hollywood Reporter called the film "A resounding achievement" and quoting dialogues from the film between father and daughter which goes as: "Work is work," "It’s not easy," he adds. "You have to do it with love." Linden opined that Tatiana Huezo "in this clear-eyed and warmhearted chronicle, has done precisely that."[16] Wendy Ide for ScreenDaily wrote in review that the film is "an intimate, immersive portrait of a way of life – its rhythms, hardships and its communal joys – told through the eyes of the young people who rarely question it."[17] Vladan Petkovic writing for Cineuropa stated, "True to its title, The Echo is about the background, about leftovers, and things left unsaid and never done. Petkovic concluding said, "It is a beautiful film that manages to be simultaneously restrained and immersive, poetic and earthy."[18]
Accolades
editAward | Date | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
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European Work in Progress | 19 October 2022 | K13 Studios Award - Dolby Atmos Mixing | The Echo | Won | [19] |
Berlin International Film Festival | 25 February 2023 | Golden Bear Plaque | Nominated | [20] | |
Berlinale Documentary Film Award | Won | [5][21] | |||
Encounters: Best Director | Tatiana Huezo | Won | [22] | ||
Seattle International Film Festival | 21 May 2023 | Ibero-American Competition Grand Jury Prize | The Echo | Nominated | [23] |
Jerusalem Film Festival | 23 July 2023 | The Nechama Rivilin Award for Best International Film | Nominated | [24] | |
Chantel Akerman Award for Best Experimental Documentary | Won | [25] | |||
Lima Film Festival | 18 August 2023 | Best Documentary | Nominated | [26] | |
CINETRAB Award for Best Documentary | Won | ||||
San Sebastián International Film Festival | 30 September 2023 | Horizons Award | Nominated | [10] | |
Athens International Film Festival | 9 October 2023 | Best Documentary | Nominated | [27] | |
Chicago International Film Festival | 22 October 2023 | Best International Documentary | Won | [28] | |
Rolling Stone en Español Awards | 26 October 2023 | Documentary Feature Film of the Year | Nominated | [29] | |
Cinema Eye Honors | 12 January 2024 | Heterodox Award | Nominated | [30] | |
Luxembourg City Film Festival | 10 March 2024 | 2030 Award by Luxembourg Aid & Development | Won | [31] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The Echo (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ ""The Echo" von Tatiana Huezo" [The Echo by Tatiana Huezo]. Film and Media Foundation (in German). 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ Huezo, Tatiana (14 February 2023). "The Echo". Cineuropa. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Ntim, Zac (23 January 2023). "Berlin Film Festival: Sean Penn, Philippe Garrel, Margarethe Von Trotta & Christian Petzold In Competition — Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Films nominated for the Berlinale Documentary Film Award". Berlinale. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ Clayton Davis (7 December 2023). "Academy Announces 288 Eligible Titles for Animated, Documentary and International Feature Oscar Races". Variety. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ a b Sandoval, Pablo; Granada, Emiliano (25 April 2021). "'Tempest' Director Tatiana Huezo Talks 'The Echo,' Her Career and Style at Visions du Réel". Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Horizons". Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "Documental" [Documentary: The Echo]. 27 PUCP Lima Film Festival (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ a b Calnan, Ellie (3 August 2023). "San Sebastian's 2023 Horizontes Latinos line-up includes 'Totem', 'The Settlers'". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- ^ Ntim, Zac (31 August 2023). "BFI London Film Festival Full Lineup: 'The Book Of Clarence' World Premiere; Scorsese, Miyazaki, Lanthimos & Fincher Among Headline Galas". Deadline. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "Vienna International Film Festival: The Echo". Vienna International Film Festival. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ "The Echo (Documentary 2023)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "The Echo". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ Lodge, Guy (17 February 2023). "The Echo' Review: Tatiana Huezo Returns With Another Harshly Poetic View of Mexican Childhood". Variety. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ Linden, Sheri (17 February 2023). "'The Echo' Review: Rural Kids Are the Captivating Heart of Tatiana Huezo's Intimate Doc". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ Ide, Wendy (17 February 2023). "'El Eco': Berlin Review". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ Petkovic, Vladan (17 February 2023). "BERLINALE 2023 Encounters Review: The Echo". Cineuropa. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- ^ Vena, Teresa (21 October 2022). "European Work in Progress Cologne announces its winners". Cineuropa. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ Ramachandran, Naman; Vivarelli, Nick (23 January 2023). "Berlin Film Festival Reveals Competition Lineup (Updating Live)". Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ Nikkhah Azad, Navid (2 February 2023). "Berlinale Documentary Award Jury 2023". Deed News. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ Ntim, Zac (25 February 2023). "Berlin Film Festival Winners: Follow Live". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "SIFF announces lineup for 49th annual Seattle International Film Festival". Seattle International Film Festival. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- ^ Brown, Hannah (28 June 2023). "2023 Jerusalem Film Fest announces international movie lineup". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (20 July 2023). "'Ama Gloria' and 'Daniel Auerbach' Scoop Top Prizes At 40th Jerusalem Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "¡Estos son los ganadores del 27 Festival de Cine de Lima PUCP!". festivaldelima.com (in Spanish). 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
- ^ "International Documentaries Competition". Athens International Film Festival. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- ^ "59th Chicago International Film Festival Announces Award-Winners". Roger Ebert.com. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ Raygoza, Isabella (11 August 2023). "Bad Bunny & Rosalía Lead Rolling Stone En Español Award Nominations: Complete List". Billboard. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ Carey, Matthew (19 October 2023). "'The 1619 Project,' 'Nothing Lasts Forever' Lead Charge As Cinema Eye Honors Announces First Round Of Documentary Nominations [Full List]". Deadline. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ Vassilis, Economou (11 March 2024). "Terrestrial Verses wins big at the Luxembourg City Film Festival". Cineuropa. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
External links
edit- Official website
- The Echo at IDFA
- The Echo at IMDb
- The Echo at Berlinale
- The Echo at Rotten Tomatoes