By Joanne Sargent
Contributor
Although it didn’t make the final five Oscar nominees for Best International Film, Tótem was Mexico’s submission for the award and is an extraordinary portrait of a family whose lives are about to change forever.
It’s through 7-year-old Sol’s eyes that we meet her family, who have gathered in her grandfather’s house to throw a birthday party for Tona, her father, who is battling advanced cancer. Sol doesn’t grasp the severity of her father’s illness; the impending inevitability of it is known by his family and friends who try to put on happy faces to protect her from the sadness.
While the family goes through the tasks of preparing for Tona’s party, Sol observes. She spies on the adult world as the house buzzes with activity, bickering, grief and moments of levity. From her perspective, we learn the various ways family members are coping (or not coping) with Tona’s illness. And, over the course of the few hours leading up to the party, Sol undergoes a painful realization no child should have to face.
The party turns into a celebration that illustrates that there can be times of boundless joy even in the face of overwhelming sorrow. Capturing the complexities of grief and overflowing with love and pain, Tótem can be emotionally overwhelming.
Subtitled, Tótem plays at the Classic at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 16.
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