Olvidadizo

When Olvidadizo was first conceived, I knew I wanted to explore two central themes: death and family. Having been born and raised in Mexico I have always been fascinated by the “Día de Muertos” or Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday in which we remember our deceased relatives and friends. What always struck me about this holiday is that unlike in other cultures, we Mexicans celebrate death with joy and happiness, remembering our dead fondly as if they were still alive and present in our lives.

Part of the celebration involves setting up an altar for the dead and decorating it with candles and flowers of many different colors as well as displaying on it photographs of the deceased along with objects they enjoyed in life such as their favorite foods, alcohol and religious imagery. All of this is done in an attempt to celebrate their life instead of mourning their death. I tried to reflect this particular take on death we Mexicans have by making the scenes involving the ghosts lively and colorful.

The ghosts in this movie like to dance, drink, eat a good meal and enjoy the pleasures of death. On the other hand, Miguel who is alive, is portrayed in an isolated and lonely world. In this way, I tried to give a twist to the theme of death by making it seem as something positive and ironically lively while showing life as a difficult struggle that can only be relieved by death.

The second main theme of the story is family. I come from a large business oriented family that has lived in our hometown of Monterrey for generations. This made my decision to study film in New York a constant struggle against my family as they thought I’d be better off staying home and continuing their legacy by joining the ranks of the family business.

In Olvidadizo I wanted to portray the struggle that ensues when someone decides to leave their family behind in order to build a new future for themselves. This is mainly reflected in the struggle of the protagonist Miguel who stayed in his hometown all of his life to take care of the family estate, but when he finally decides to leave, his dead relatives try to keep him there by force to achieve their own selfish interests.

The way these two themes converge and reach their conclusion is through the character of Laia, Miguel’s daughter. After Laia dies, she sees for herself the traumatizing effect her death has on her father as well as the extent to which her ghost relatives are willing to go in order to keep the family together. In the end, she becomes the mediator between her father and the ghosts and the bridge between life and death. In this way, Laia represents the other side of both central themes: the pain that death causes to those who are left behind as well as the strong family ties that give life purpose and meaning.