Sayen

This film could have been truly excellent. It explores concepts that have the potential to truly broaden the mind through cinema. But lacks any sort of concerted effort to truly delve into the subject matter it portrays.

Sayen as a character is interesting, her internal moral conflict as to whether or not to solve her problems through violence/aggression versus political action/media exposure is an interesting struggle to watch but it's completely glossed over. It's mentioned once, maybe twice, and then ignored. Her fight for not only herself but for her people is something that also could have been explored but they fail this as well.

The antagonist, Antonio. This is where they truly dropped the ball. Arón Piper's performance is great, however the script they gave him to work with is abysmal. Antonio as a character had the potential to be riveting and engrossing. The film had the opportunity to truly explore his battle with addiction. His struggle with mental illness, and his strained relationship with his father. We, as the audience, could've watched him fight through his internal struggles and battle with his demons as he reckons with himself what must be done. But nope, none of that. He's just "bad rich guy mean to poor girl". And that's it. It's sad to see honestly as he was developed halfway and could've been great if they just didn't half do it the way they did. Somehow it's worse when characters could have been great but end up shallow, rather than when were terrible form start to finish. Sayen as a film sadly fall into the former.

Sayen, is a film that truly could've been something special, but falls flat with a rushed pace, shallow characters, and a plot with very little surprise.

(2023) Sayen (In Spanish and Mapudungun with English subtitles) THRILLER/ SOCIAL COMMENTARY.

It opens with an aboriginal Mapuche woman of Chile, being chased by three people armed with guns through the forest until she jumps several feet down below into the water falls. The movie then jumps backward three days earlier, and we find out later that the woman who jumped at the opening her name is "Sayen" played by Rallen Montenegro- hence the title. And that her and her grandmother are clashing with Spanish developers, headed by the son, Antonio Torres (Aron Piper)in search for cobalt for the intention of pleasing his father Llamando Torres.

From what you can watch from Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, including North America the action in this film is quite weak and uninspiring. And don't get me wrong, I love to watch movies about female empowerment but the action is reminiscent toward a TV movie.

I find that the poster of this movie slightly misleading as at first, I thought the Mapuche aboriginal woman was working alongside the white dude with the gun, but it's like, as you are watching it, it turns out that the white guy on the poster is the same dude who killed that lady's grandmother and that she is seeking retribution on him as well as others. This is yet another example of false advertising.

I liked this movie. I was impressed by the use of the Mapuche language, and found the character of Sayen, who trained as a Mapuche warrior as a child, believable. I liked that she seemed like a person a mainstream person might meet in University who was returning to her people. Unlike some Marvel character, this character makes me curious about what is happening with native people in Patagonia. She was sympathetic, as was her grandmother. She showed a range of emotion not usually seen in a woman character, but appropriate for her situation. Namely fierce anger. I would love to see a sequel of Sayen's life in the jungle and her ongoing struggle against the corporate invasion of her peoples' land.

This was well done, and the lead actress was very good. On Prime, this defaults to English dubbing, be sure to change the setting to Spanish with subtitles. The habit of English dubbing for American viewers is a travesty and always ruins the movie. Lovely cinematography and a great way to see places we otherwise will never see. Loved the use of local modern music to remind us that this is happening now, just as it did throughout history. Hopefully, movies like this will help educate and deter unwanted development in remote and important ecosystems. I do hope for a sequel with this talented actress, will watch for it.

Surprised at the overall 4.6 rating for this, although the film doesn't offer anything new to the one-against-many trope for an action film, the overall plot is still half decent compared to other higher rated action films in the same ball-park. The lead actress does a pretty good job and the majority of the supporting cast make the film watchable enough.

The cinematography is also pretty decent with some awesome shots of the Chilean landscape which I think definitely adds some points to the production value. Reading about this film I'm not sure making a trilogy is necessary a great idea but not a bad low budgeter as a one time watch.