Sightlines · reception

How Tótem was received

2023 · Lila Avilés · Tótem on Sightlines

The arc

No reappraisal needed — it premiered in competition at the Berlinale in 2023, won the Ecumenical Jury Prize, and by its 2024 international rollout it was one of the best-reviewed films of the year, a fixture on critics' year-end lists.

What’s debated

The classic quiet-film split: detractors say it's a plotless afternoon where nothing happens, while devotees insist that's precisely the point and that the accumulation wrecks you.

Its footprint

It's become a go-to Letterboxd recommendation in the 'small films that emotionally destroy you' genre — reviews are basically a support group — and it cemented Lila Avilés, after The Chambermaid, as a leading voice of new Mexican cinema.

Where it stands

A canon climber: already routinely named among the great Mexican films of the 2020s and a beloved arthouse pick rather than a cult obscurity.

Did you know? Tótem was Mexico's official submission for Best International Feature at the 96th Academy Awards and made the Academy's 15-film shortlist, though it missed the final nominations.