Review: ‘We Shall Not Be Moved’
An award-winning new narrative feature from a first-time director and screenwriter grapples with the impact of an explosive moment in Mexico’s history.
Winner of four Ariel Awards (the equivalent of Mexico’s Academy Awards) and the country’s official submission for the Best International Film Oscar, filmmaker Pierre Saint-Martin’s directorial debut, We Shall Not Be Moved, confronts the legacy of the 1968 Tlatelolco Square student massacre committed by the Mexican Armed Forces. Decades after the murder of her brother at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas, septuagenarian lawyer Socorro (Luisa Huertas) still wants revenge on the man responsible. She lives in a cramped apartment with her sister with whom she has a strained relationship, her unemployed son, and her daughter-in-law. One day, someone comes to her door with a photo of the man who tortured and killed her beloved brother, so Socorro begins to develop a plan to kidnap and assassinate him.
As a lawyer, Socorro helps exploited people get justice, and it’s through her career that she’s made valuable contacts to help accomplish her mission. One of these is Sidarta (José Alberto Patiño), who first came to her years ago when he was facing time in prison. Because of her, he was able to avoid that, and now, he’s become her handyman and almost like an adoptive son. Sidarta has put his dark past behind him, so when Socorro asks him to help her with her plan, he’s hesitant. With a wife and a daughter now, Sidarta understandably doesn’t want to destroy what he’s worked for, but Socorro convinces him to assist her. The unlikely duo embark on a dark adventure together, which takes the film in unexpected directions.
Shot in beautiful black and white, We Shall Not Be Moved is an impressive debut for Saint-Martin, who also co-wrote the screenplay with screenwriter Iker Compeán Leroux (also his first feature script). A chamber drama about unresolved family trauma, the film bounces between comedy and intense, emotionally charged scenes, yet you never feel exhausted by it. Luisa Huertas gives a tour-de-performance as the determined and irascible Socorro, for which she was honored with Ariel Best Actress Award earlier this year. José Alberto Patiño is a breakout star as the quirky yet haunted Sidharta, earning him Best Breakthrough Performance at the Ariel Awards. It’s exciting to see what this cast and crew of newcomers will do next.
