We Are What We Are
Encyclopedia
We Are What We Are is a 2010
Mexican film directed by Jorge Michel Grau. The film is about a family of cannibals who, after the death of the father, try to continue a ritualistic tradition of kidnapping and eating other humans. The film stars Paulina Gaitán
and Daniel Giménez Cacho
in the leads.
As Dad has not appeared for the day's work, Alfredo and Julián head to the market. Julián gets into a fight with a customer who claims that his watch is three weeks overdue. The woman who runs the market appears and tells the boys to get out; the rent for their booth at the market is three weeks in arrears.
When the boys arrive at home, their sister Sabina enters in a state of shock and announces that their father has died. Their mother, Patricia, locks herself in her room; the children wonder who is going to provide for the family now -- specifically, their meals: this family performs cannibalistic ritualis.
In a local morgue, the coroner and police chief bring in Tito and Owen, two police officers. The coroner shows them a finger in a jar: it was pulled from Dad's stomach. The two officers are asked to solve this cold case. Initially, they resist, but as the film continues, they become more interested in the fame that will come with solving it.
Alfredo and Julián attempt to kidnap a homeless child from under a local bridge, but are chased off by the other children. Next, they attempt to kidnap a prostitute, who also resists; Julián punches her and stuffs her into the back seat of their car.
Back at home, the boys tie the prostitute to the kitchen table. Patricia comes in and beats the woman to death with a shovel, claiming that Alfredo doesn't know what he's doing, and that prostitutes are not appropriate for the ritual. Alfredo runs out while Julián and Sabina wrap the dead woman in a sheet. Julián and Patricia take the prostitute back to the corner where the boys picked her up and dump her in front of the other street workers. Patricia tells the women to leave her sons alone. The prostitutes report the incident to officers Tito and Owen.
Alfredo goes looking for another potential meal; he finds one in a gay bar. Alfredo brings the young man home with him, but Julián says he won't eat a homosexual. As Alfredo and Julián argue the point, an older man comes down from their mother's room. Alfredo's prey escapes while Patricia beats the older man over the head with a shovel.
As Sabina and Patricia prepare the man for eating, Alfredo and Julián chase after the gay boy. The boy runs to a fast food stand and asks the police to protect him. Officers Tito and Owen hear the call over their police radio and head to the scene. They decline to call for backup, as they want to keep the glory of the collar for themselves.
Officer Tito stops Alfredo and Julián in an alley, but is shot by a beat cop who mistakes Tito for one of the cannibals. Officer Owen discovers Sabina and Patricia preparing their meal in a ritualistic fashion, but the women kill him. Alfredo and Julián arrive home; Patricia insists on completing the ritual, but Alfredo drags her away to escape over the rooftops.
The police break into the family's home and Julián shoots several of them before the family manages to hide upstairs. Their mother says that one must survive to carry on the ritual and flees to the rooftop. The prostitutes earlier in the film see her escaping and pursue her.
Meanwhile, Alfredo bites Sabina. Julián, thinking Alfredo's attempting to eat Sabina, shoots Alfredo. The police kill Julián and take Sabina away in an ambulance, believing that she is a surviving victim.
The next morning Patricia's body is discovered in a playground, beaten to death.
At the end of the film, Sabina escapes from the hospital and is seen watching a young man in the local market, intent on her next meal.
. We Are What We Are was completely shot in Mexico. In the leads plays Paulina Gaitan
, Daniel Giménez Cacho
and Francisco Barreiro which won with his former project Perpetuum Mobile the Best Mexican Feature award on the Guadalajara International Film Festival
.
. The film tells of the violence of the people and their foreclosure and was part of the Cannes Film Market 2010. The Mexican horror film is part of the Fantasia 2010
. The film will release over IFC Films
as We are What we are in the United States. The film had his UK premiere on 30 August 2010 as part of the Film4 FrightFest 2010
. IFC Film will release the film in the United States as Video-on-demand. Artificial Eye will release We Are What We Are in the UK on 12 November 2010.
said, that We Are What We Are "is perhaps too dark and relentlessly humorless to find wide international audiences." Young stated that "another limiting factor is the difficulty of identifying with any of the characters, who are played expressively but still remain abstract and alien, distant from the viewer."
2010 in film
The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and...
Mexican film directed by Jorge Michel Grau. The film is about a family of cannibals who, after the death of the father, try to continue a ritualistic tradition of kidnapping and eating other humans. The film stars Paulina Gaitán
Paulina Gaitán
Paulina Gaitán Ruíz is a Mexican actress.-Biography:Gaitán started acting at age 9 and at the age of 12 had an important role in Mexican director Luis Mandoki's Innocent Voices, a tale about the civil war in El Salvador...
and Daniel Giménez Cacho
Daniel Giménez Cacho
Daniel Giménez Cacho is a Spanish-born Ariel award winner Mexican actor who has starred in several Mexican films such as Solo con tu pareja, Cronos, Midaq Alley and Arráncame la Vida, among others as well as in Spanish Films and TV shows.He is known for having worked with some of the most...
in the leads.
Plot
In the opening scene, Dad dies on the sidewalk at a local shopping mall. At home, his family is wondering what has become of him. Dad is a watchmaker who repairs watches at the local street market, and the family's sole means of support.As Dad has not appeared for the day's work, Alfredo and Julián head to the market. Julián gets into a fight with a customer who claims that his watch is three weeks overdue. The woman who runs the market appears and tells the boys to get out; the rent for their booth at the market is three weeks in arrears.
When the boys arrive at home, their sister Sabina enters in a state of shock and announces that their father has died. Their mother, Patricia, locks herself in her room; the children wonder who is going to provide for the family now -- specifically, their meals: this family performs cannibalistic ritualis.
In a local morgue, the coroner and police chief bring in Tito and Owen, two police officers. The coroner shows them a finger in a jar: it was pulled from Dad's stomach. The two officers are asked to solve this cold case. Initially, they resist, but as the film continues, they become more interested in the fame that will come with solving it.
Alfredo and Julián attempt to kidnap a homeless child from under a local bridge, but are chased off by the other children. Next, they attempt to kidnap a prostitute, who also resists; Julián punches her and stuffs her into the back seat of their car.
Back at home, the boys tie the prostitute to the kitchen table. Patricia comes in and beats the woman to death with a shovel, claiming that Alfredo doesn't know what he's doing, and that prostitutes are not appropriate for the ritual. Alfredo runs out while Julián and Sabina wrap the dead woman in a sheet. Julián and Patricia take the prostitute back to the corner where the boys picked her up and dump her in front of the other street workers. Patricia tells the women to leave her sons alone. The prostitutes report the incident to officers Tito and Owen.
Alfredo goes looking for another potential meal; he finds one in a gay bar. Alfredo brings the young man home with him, but Julián says he won't eat a homosexual. As Alfredo and Julián argue the point, an older man comes down from their mother's room. Alfredo's prey escapes while Patricia beats the older man over the head with a shovel.
As Sabina and Patricia prepare the man for eating, Alfredo and Julián chase after the gay boy. The boy runs to a fast food stand and asks the police to protect him. Officers Tito and Owen hear the call over their police radio and head to the scene. They decline to call for backup, as they want to keep the glory of the collar for themselves.
Officer Tito stops Alfredo and Julián in an alley, but is shot by a beat cop who mistakes Tito for one of the cannibals. Officer Owen discovers Sabina and Patricia preparing their meal in a ritualistic fashion, but the women kill him. Alfredo and Julián arrive home; Patricia insists on completing the ritual, but Alfredo drags her away to escape over the rooftops.
The police break into the family's home and Julián shoots several of them before the family manages to hide upstairs. Their mother says that one must survive to carry on the ritual and flees to the rooftop. The prostitutes earlier in the film see her escaping and pursue her.
Meanwhile, Alfredo bites Sabina. Julián, thinking Alfredo's attempting to eat Sabina, shoots Alfredo. The police kill Julián and take Sabina away in an ambulance, believing that she is a surviving victim.
The next morning Patricia's body is discovered in a playground, beaten to death.
At the end of the film, Sabina escapes from the hospital and is seen watching a young man in the local market, intent on her next meal.
Cast
- Adrián Aguirre as Adriana
- Miriam Balderas as Sheyla
- Francisco Barreiro as Alfredo
- Carmen Beato as Patricia
- Alan Chávez as Julián
- Juan Carlos Colombo as Director of the funeral home
- Paulina GaitanPaulina GaitánPaulina Gaitán Ruíz is a Mexican actress.-Biography:Gaitán started acting at age 9 and at the age of 12 had an important role in Mexican director Luis Mandoki's Innocent Voices, a tale about the civil war in El Salvador...
as Sabina - Daniel Giménez CachoDaniel Giménez CachoDaniel Giménez Cacho is a Spanish-born Ariel award winner Mexican actor who has starred in several Mexican films such as Solo con tu pareja, Cronos, Midaq Alley and Arráncame la Vida, among others as well as in Spanish Films and TV shows.He is known for having worked with some of the most...
as Tito - Miguel Ángel Hoppe as Gustavo
- Raúl Kennedy as Adán
- Octavio Michel as Teniente
- Esteban Soberanes as Octavio
- Humberto Yáñez as Dad
- Jorge Zárate as Owen
Production
The director Jorge Michel Grau himself narrated his film on the 2010 Cannes Film Festival2010 Cannes Film Festival
The 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 12 to May 23, 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and prestigious film festivals worldwide, was founded in 1946. It consists of having films screened in and out of competition during the...
. We Are What We Are was completely shot in Mexico. In the leads plays Paulina Gaitan
Paulina Gaitán
Paulina Gaitán Ruíz is a Mexican actress.-Biography:Gaitán started acting at age 9 and at the age of 12 had an important role in Mexican director Luis Mandoki's Innocent Voices, a tale about the civil war in El Salvador...
, Daniel Giménez Cacho
Daniel Giménez Cacho
Daniel Giménez Cacho is a Spanish-born Ariel award winner Mexican actor who has starred in several Mexican films such as Solo con tu pareja, Cronos, Midaq Alley and Arráncame la Vida, among others as well as in Spanish Films and TV shows.He is known for having worked with some of the most...
and Francisco Barreiro which won with his former project Perpetuum Mobile the Best Mexican Feature award on the Guadalajara International Film Festival
Guadalajara International Film Festival
The Guadalajara International Film Festival is a week-long film festival held each March in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. The festival is considered the most prestigious film festival in Latin America and among the most important Spanish language film festivals in the world...
.
Release
It featured the Mexico's national film school and premiered on 15 March 2010 as part of the Guadalajara International Film FestivalGuadalajara International Film Festival
The Guadalajara International Film Festival is a week-long film festival held each March in the Mexican city of Guadalajara. The festival is considered the most prestigious film festival in Latin America and among the most important Spanish language film festivals in the world...
. The film tells of the violence of the people and their foreclosure and was part of the Cannes Film Market 2010. The Mexican horror film is part of the Fantasia 2010
Fantasia Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival is a genre film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996...
. The film will release over IFC Films
IFC Films
IFC Films is an American film distribution company based in New York, owned by AMC Networks. It distributes independent films and documentaries under the IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. It operates the IFC Center....
as We are What we are in the United States. The film had his UK premiere on 30 August 2010 as part of the Film4 FrightFest 2010
Fright Fest
Fright Fest or FrightFest is a Halloween-oriented event that takes place at some theme parks, notably Six Flags parks, called "Six Flags Fright Fest", and PARC Management-owned parks, called "FrightFest".-General information:...
. IFC Film will release the film in the United States as Video-on-demand. Artificial Eye will release We Are What We Are in the UK on 12 November 2010.
Reception
Deborah Young of ReutersReuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
said, that We Are What We Are "is perhaps too dark and relentlessly humorless to find wide international audiences." Young stated that "another limiting factor is the difficulty of identifying with any of the characters, who are played expressively but still remain abstract and alien, distant from the viewer."