Sayen

As "Sayen" (2023 release from Chile; 95 min) opens, a Mapuche woman is chased in the forest by 4 people with guns. All of the sudden she reaches a deep ravine with a big river at the bottom. Rather than be caught. The soman jumps... We then go to "Three Days Earlier" as the woman, who is named Sayen, arrives back after years away at her original village, in a remote part of southern Chile...

Couple of comments: this is not your standard foreign movie. "Sayen" is specifically made around the aboriginal Mapuche people of southern Chile. Without giving much away, the film centers around how the Mapuche people's life style and more is threatened by an aggressive out of towner who envisions the area as perfect for eco-tourism. Of course! One of the best aspects of the movie is that we get a glimpse of what that part of the world actually looks like. The movie's photography is eye candy from start to finish, almost like a National Geographic documentary. That is a problem for the film, as there is quite a bit of awkward acting, and the underlying script is weak and predicable.

"Sayen" started streaming on Amazon Prime and I stumbled upon it when I was scrolling through the "recently added" section. I had never heard of this movie, and took a chance on it. Even though it's not the best of films, I'm nevertheless glad that I checked it out. Of course don't take my word for it, so if you are in the mood for a foreign film that is definitely not standard fare, I'd readily suggest you check it out and draw your own conclusion.

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.

The film is a visual treat. I did not know Chile was so beautiful. The story has some of the usual tropes of the underdog fighting the system, but it's presented differently. The protagonist is a strong tribal woman; not once does the movie somehow contrive to get her to take off her clothes to give fan service. She stays in character throughout as an intense yet sensitive woman bent on gaining justice for herself and her people.

The cast is fairly small, but does the job well. For me (who has never been to South America or the Western Hemisphere), it was interesting to see the tribal celebrations and the very colourful people and culture.

The screenplay could be slightly more polished, or maybe it makes some assumptions about cultural knowledge. But it was still a good action movie with a different kind of protagonist.

If it were a regular Hollywood movie, I would give it something like 7.5 stars. But the visual beauty and exposure to a new culture and film industry adds a little more novelty to it for me.

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.

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.