Berlinale: Tempestad

Tempestad
Directed by Tatiana Huezo

by Malin Arvidsson

Tempestad beautifully immerses you into the very moving story of a young mother who’s victimized by corruption in Mexico as she is falsely accused of human trafficking. This documentary takes you through her story without you ever seeing her on screen. You only hear her voice telling the story while watching images of the 2000km road trip that takes her back to her home in south Mexico after being released from prison.

The beautifully filmed images and immersive soundscape suit the story very well as it feels very real. The story portrays what life can be like in a Mexican prison and suggests what fear and suffering can do to a person. It shows you how easily anyone can be a victim of corruption.

The second story in this documentary is about a mother of a circus family, whose daughter one day disappears and the family is fighting to find out where she’s gone. It’s also very moving and immersive, but the way it intervenes with the other story and goes back and forth between them is a little bit confusing at times. Especially as the two stories don’t seem to be related in any way other than both women featured are victims of corruption.

In spite of the odd confusion, I still highly recommend this film for its beauty and immersion.