Alta, California. The year is 1845, and Alma’s (Susana Elena Boyce) obsession with her pottery enterprise is growing by the day. Isolated in her cottage, she remains committed to caring for her mom, Josefa (Ivette González), by working as much as possible, day and night. When her mother eventually passes away, Alma succumbs to grief and buries herself in labor, but soon after, a mysterious phenomenon intrudes into her home, leaving her dumbfounded. Writer/director Pablo Guillen’s Bajo La Tierra is a LOLA Award Winner and Longlisted for the YUGO BAFTA awards.
The film boasts exceptional craftsmanship, distinguished by its stunning production design, costumes, and cinematography, all of which contribute to a truly unique viewing experience. The short seamlessly executes everything you’d expect from its period setting, including the many tools and trinkets in Alma’s household, immersing you in the arid heat of 19th-century Alta.
The title translates to ‘underground,’ a beautifully subtle nod to the teachings the story passes on to both its audience and its characters. “Everything we have comes from the dirt,” Josefa says to a young Alma (Allyson Juliette) as they tend to their flower garden. Words of wisdom that preach reverence for the earth but also appreciation for the present, before everything in it returns to where it came from. In her sorrow and strive for material wealth, Alma takes her sights off these values and begins journeying down a dangerous path of grief. Her creations crumble, her own fire burns her, and her home no longer feels welcoming. Boyce is enthralling as Alma in a multi-faceted performance that demands considerable physical and emotional strain.
Bajo La Tierra feels like a dark fable, the kind you’d read in old childhood books. Twisted and macabre, but also possessing the kind of resplendent power to really make an impact on those who choose to stick with it. It’s a cautionary tale of the supernatural variety, written and directed with the utmost attention to detail. And its ending is nothing short of astounding.
A sublimely acted and crafted period piece, Pablo Guillen’s Bajo La Tierra also packs a worthwhile and wildly unexpected twist.
