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Holy Beasts

Holy Beasts

Representation Score

9.0/10

Excellent

2019

Director

Laura Amelia Guzmán, Israel Cárdenas

Runtime

90 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Holy Beasts is a sophisticated piece of transnational cinema that rejects Western cinematic dominance. It succeeds by centering Latin American subjectivity and utilizing a fragmented, poetic structure that challenges conventional storytelling norms. However, the film lacks explicit engagement with identity-based politics. The absence of clearly defined LGBTQ+ identities or specific disability depictions prevents a higher overall score, as the narrative prioritizes abstraction over social advocacy.

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Category Breakdown

Does Holy Beasts have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film avoids focusing on explicit LGBTQ+ themes but maintains a neutral stance on sexual orientation. It centers on spiritual and bodily connections without clearly defined queer-coded subtext or non-cisgender identities.

How does Holy Beasts portray gender?

Good

The narrative disrupts traditional gender hierarchies by emphasizing female subjectivity and meditative experiences. It avoids secondary characterizations by prioritizing maternal and spiritual empowerment through a dreamlike perspective.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Holy Beasts?

Excellent

The film excels in regional authenticity with a predominantly Mexican and Latin American cast and crew. This approach avoids the Western gaze by centering the story within a specific cultural context.

How does Holy Beasts represent religion and culture?

Good

The story favors a postmodern, relational understanding of reality over objective truth. It moves away from Western institutional frameworks toward an organic, perhaps animistic, worldview centered on the natural world.

Does Holy Beasts include disability representation?

Fair

Themes of grief and the physical body are present, though specific disabilities are not central to character arcs. The dreamlike state suggests a possible exploration of neurodivergence or sensory perception.

Present on Screen

  • Strong commitment to regional authenticity through a Mexican and Latin American cast and crew.
  • Effective subversion of traditional gender hierarchies by centering female subjectivity and empowerment.
  • Rejection of Western cinematic dominance in favor of non-linear, transnational storytelling.

Limited or Absent

  • Lack of explicit representation or clearly defined non-cisgender identities.
  • Absence of specific, confirmed depictions regarding disability or neurodivergence.
  • Minimal focus on identity-based politics in favor of spiritual abstraction.

Official Synopsis

Remembers an artist in the form of a somnambulistic fantasy: A filmmaker faces increasing challenges as she tries, decades later, to complete Dominican filmmaker Jean-Louis Jorge’s unfinished work.

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