La Pietà

Mateo lives under the overprotective and omnipresent watch of his mother Libertad, locked in a house of pastel pink hues, and trapped in a manufactured co-dependency. After a devastating health diagnosis, Libertad’s loss of control leads to chaos as Mateo searches for his own autonomy. Set against daily news reports of the North Korea regime, La Pieta examines the relationship of dictators and their people; submission and control. This vulgar and intriguing sophomore feature from Eduardo Casanova is sure to shock, disgust and entertain with its mix of psychological torment and brilliant black comedy.

It is a totally unconventional horror movie, which deals with the most toxic relationship possible between a mother and her son, drawing a parallel between a dictator and the people, more specifically the dictatorship in North Korea. We have all been in a toxic relationship, it doesn’t matter whether it is a partner, a friend or a family member. Personal relationships are deeply complicated; I am sure that anyone reading this is, or has been in a relationship like this, but… how can you get out of it? And if you manage to get out, how, and for how long will you stay out?

Director Eduardo Casanova, from an interview with Cineuropa