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The Returned

Name: The Returned
Director: Laura Casabé
Released: 2019
Duration: 93 min

Representation Score

5.7/10

Fair

2019

Director

Laura Casabé

Runtime

93 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The film successfully combines regional identity and indigenous mythology to create a character-driven psychological study. It challenges the homogeneity of traditional settler narratives by focusing on the friction between settlers and the Guarani tribe. However, the story remains confined within traditional domestic and patriarchal structures, lacking explicit LGBTQ+ representation and visible disability portrayals. Ultimately, the work offers a nuanced exploration of trauma that disrupts conventional horror clichés and the concept of the protective patriarch.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Returned have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film does not include explicit representations of LGBTQ+ identities or dynamics that challenge the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender. The narrative focuses solely on Julia's domestic and maternal concerns.

How does The Returned portray gender?

Fair

Julia's internal struggles and her role as a mother drive the emotional core of the film. Despite the presence of a patriarchal structure, the story centers on her personal journey rather than the actions of her husband.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Returned?

Good

The film introduces elements of the Guarani tribe, exploring the power dynamics and conflicts between settlers and indigenous peoples during the colonial era.

How does The Returned represent religion and culture?

Good

The movie integrates regional folklore and indigenous myths into the psychological horror, critiquing the failed attempts to isolate the local landscape and traditions through physical barriers.

Does The Returned include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no visible or mentioned depictions of physical or neurodivergent disabilities within the provided narrative.

Present on Screen

Effectively integrates regional folklore and indigenous mythos into the psychological horror framework.
Highlights the futility of physical barriers against nature and tradition, challenging colonial isolationism.
Centers the female experience through a protagonist driven by deep emotional and maternal stakes.

Limited or Absent

Does not include explicit representations of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight-centered relationship dynamics.
Lacks visible or mentioned depictions of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.
Relies on a traditional patriarchal structure despite the protagonist's central role.

Official Synopsis

Julia, wife of a wealthy lord living near the Iguazu Falls, has nightmares for several days. The lord builds a fence to ward off the indigenous people, the Guarani tribe, but Julia is still anxious about her son Manuel’s safety. One day Manuel suddenly disappears, and when searching for him, Julia runs into her maid, Kerana, who was believed to have died one year before, under the falls.

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