Zama

2017 1h 55m ES

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 185

DramaHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a remote South American colony in the late 18th century, officer Zama of the Spanish crown waits in vain for a transfer to a more prestigious location. He suffers small humiliations and petty politicking as he increasingly succumbs to lust and paranoia.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Daniel Giménez Cacho
Don Diego de Zama
Lola Dueñas
Luciana Piñares de Luenga
Matheus Nachtergaele
Vicuña Porto / Gaspar Toledo
Juan Minujín
Ventura Prieto
Nahuel Cano
Manuel Fernández
Mariana Nunes
Malemba
Carlos Defeo
El Oriental
Rafael Spregelburd
Capitán Hipólito Parrilla

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lucrecia Martel
Writers: Lucrecia Martel
Languages: Guarani, Portuguese, Spanish
Countries: Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, France, Lebanon, Netherlands, United States of America, Dominican Republic

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Guarani, Portuguese, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 10 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, France, Lebanon, Netherlands, United States of America, Dominican Republic.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lucrecia Martel, shot by Rui Poças. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Karen Harley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Daniel Giménez Cacho and Lola Dueñas and Matheus Nachtergaele carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3409848 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lucrecia Martel directs. Rui Poças behind the camera. Karen Harley cuts. Produced in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, France, Lebanon, Netherlands, United States of America, Dominican Republic. Dialogue in Guarani, Portuguese, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 9 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Guarani, Portuguese, Spanish.
3International production across 10 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, France, Lebanon, Netherlands, United States of America, Dominican Republic.
4Directed by Lucrecia Martel, shot by Rui Poças. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Karen Harley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Daniel Giménez Cacho and Lola Dueñas and Matheus Nachtergaele carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt3409848 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Rui Poças
Editing: Karen Harley
Costume design: Julio Suárez
Makeup / hair: Marisa Amenta
Sound: Emmanuel Croset
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Status: Released
Original language: ES
IMDB: Zama (2017)

Also by

Lucrecia Martel

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-05-17
★ 7/10
Daniel Giménez Cacho is the eponymous corregidor who has long since served his King in a Spanish colony in South America, hoping that he will soon earn a promotion and be able to leave this fairly squalid existence. He has a wife and child and to get back to them he is prepared to do pretty much anything, but gradually the man realises that he is but a pawn in a game being played by his superiors - who don't really want to be there either - that plays well to the narcissism and absolutism of a provincial administration that endowed the governor with kinglike powers to be used in petty and vengeful ways. Though "Zama" is more decent than many, there is is still a stark superiority complex amongst the conquerors whose treatment of the non-Christian and highly superstitious native population borders on the barbaric. There's a good Scots expression about being "king of your own midden" and Cacho et al deliver that sense well, especially when clad in their ill-fitting wigs and heavy European garments that further emphasise that they just don't belong here. Will he get his promotion? In many ways the production reminded me of Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo" (!982) as it really does encapsulate onto film the hostility of the terrain and the environment in which "Zama" lives. It also depicts the natives as little better than savages whilst the narrative itself reveals that they are nowhere near as subjected as their European masters might like to think. Morally and physically it's an uncomfortable film to watch, but that's not a bad thing. It makes us think a little about the building blocks of empire and though it does plod along at times, is quite an interesting depiction of a man who is just as trapped as any he supervises.

Production companies