Zama

Audience Reviews

View More

Scott R @ScottR Apr 1, 2025 Ambitious project that took a different look on the drag of colonialism on the "elite". Ultimately, it took it too far and tried too hard to make something unique. Props for trying. I only saw it since it was on the NYT 1000 movies and SNS22 lists. SLC DVD. See more

Alec B @Alec97 Jan 5, 2024 As much as the titular character suffers, Martel doesn't turn him into a tragic figure nor do his torments overshadow the very real horrors of late 18th century colonialism. Its an impressive feat, one that's matched by the haunting and enigmatic ending. See more

Richard P @Richard36 Oct 17, 2023 Having seen this film in the cinema several years ago, I was delighted to find it on Mubi and have a second chance to see it. A film which enchanted nearly all critics and sharply divided audiences has left me still decidedly on the side of the critics. The action of the film has a dream-like quality and is seen through the eyes of Don Diego de Zama, a magistrate in Spain's eighteenth century colonial empire, whose utter downfall we witness. The period milieu is convincingly realised as the camera pans slowly over the dim interiors, the sun-drenched landscapes and seascapes and the inhabitants, both European and native.While some have criticised the film's slowness, I found the strangeness of everything compellingly hypnotic. See more

Eric P @wchevres Aug 10, 2022 Brilliant, subdued. A colonial administrator's experiences as if portrayed by Kafka. See more

Jan 11, 2022 I am not going to lie, it is a very difficult film that demands a lot from the viewer. It is one of those films that ask so much that divide the public in two, those who hate it and those who defend it tooth and nail. I am one of the latter, simply because I find it brilliant. Martel makes you descend alongside Don Diego de Zama in madness, in despair, in the delirium of going crazy while discreetly pointing out the exploitation of the conquerors to the natives in colonizing times. In few films sound is so essential to create such an absorbing atmosphere. A jewel. See more

Tim G @tmgreene22 Nov 13, 2020 This qualifies as "a difficult watch" (for me at least). Beautiful, disorienting, a bit maddening.... it wore me out eventually. See more

Read all reviews

Zama

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING