Rita leans into fantastical elements. It uses wardrobe to amplify the children’s innocence. Simultaneously, it shows how monsters do not need to be mythical creatures.
Rita employs fantasy and magical realism to portray a tragic story of monumental loss and horror while highlighting the failure of adults and society to shelter and care for kids. It’s at once a surreal watch—filled with wings and twinkling lights—encased in a concrete cage. The film is a condemnation and an illumination of ever-present childlike innocence. Slow-motion shots and consciously placed vibrant colors amplify the surreal sense, but the movie never loses its groundedness within a harsh, incarcerated reality. Rita is impactful and necessary in a world that treats kids like adults.
Written and directed by Jayro Bustamante (La Llorona, Tremors), the film follows Rita, played by Giuliana Santa Cruz, a 13-year-old runaway, as she arrives at a state-run facility for girls. But, like her home, the people who run the facility do not care about young girls. To end the horrors, the girls plot a daring escape culminating in tragedy. While there are no overly graphic scenes, audiences should go into the film aware of the subject matter.
Rita Employs Fairytale Looks to Drive Home Innocence and Horror
At first, when Rita arrives at the home, she sees kids resembling a wolf pack. They run through the facility’s nearby woods with a mystical quality. So it seems like a dream to audiences. Moreover, as Rita narrates the story’s beginning, she emphasizes how she must tell it this way. But soon enough, it’s clear that the attire is real. Because every group of girls per room has their own assigned look, from angels to princesses to fairies.
Bustamante utilizes fantasy realism to take the ephemeral nature of child innocence and enshroud the kids. You cannot deny they are kids. However, these are kids who’ve experienced misfortune. Unfortunately, at the facility, they continue experiencing trauma no child should ever suffer. So, viewing children in wings strengthens the burgeoning rage at witnessing these predatory adults. The anger amplifies when you realize that it ties in with actual abuse and heartbreaking tragedy.
The Cast of Kids Break Your Heart
Rita‘s sound design and score deliver a hauntingly childlike wonder and dread. While the choir vocals are innocent, there is also a sense that you must brace for impact. However, the danger is not from the young girls but those meant to care for them. Cementing that fear and sorrow are the riveting performances by the girls in the film. Giuliana Santa Cruz shuttered acting, but anger seething underneath builds anger in audiences.
Alejandra Vásquez as Bebé, Ángela Quevedo as Sulmy, and the rest of the kids break viewers’ hearts as we learn the real reason behind each group’s specific fantasy classes. So, it is truly sickening. Although they didn’t craft it, the children turn to tales of lore and prophecy to handle the trauma. Rita resonates with viewers while condemning the adultification of adolescent girls.
A Notable and Tragic Film
Jayro Bustamante always weaves a spellbinding mix of fantasy or the supernatural with historical atrocities that need redress. With La Llorona, Bustamante seizes the legend of the weeping woman. He embeds it in historical events surrounding the civil war in Guatemala that saw thousands of Indigenous people massacred by the military. Rita follows a similar pattern.
Rita leans into fantastical elements. It uses wardrobe to amplify the children’s innocence. Simultaneously, it shows how monsters do not need to be mythical creatures. Sometimes, the monsters are the adults around us. Jayro Bustamante deftly wields his sharp lens in Rita to bring attention to injustice while delivering an unforgettable film.
