agmtw logo
search
Leona (2018)

Leona (2018)

A Jewish Latina confronts truths about love, life, and self

7.6

Movie

Mexico
Spanish
Drama, Romance
2018
ISAAC CHEREM
Adriana Llabrés, Carlos Aragón, Carolina Politi
95 min

What it's about

Ariela, a traditional Jew, meets Ivan, a young man who is not Jewish with whom she begins a secret relationship despite her family beliefs.

The take

Present-day Mexico City—Ariela comes from a Jewish family that insists on getting married only to people of the same religion. This rule is complicated when Ariela falls in love with the non-Jewish Iván. She is then faced with the dilemma of choosing herself or her family, who for all their severity, she still loves deeply.

Leona’s modern-day retelling of Romeo and Juliet recalls the likes of Crazy Rich Asians and The Big Sick, but unlike those big-budgeted movies, this intimate Spanish-language film exchanges melodrama for restraint, and it’s all the better for it. Leona is a quietly moving story that’s easy to relate to, despite the specificity of its premise.

Comments

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

Victoria (2015)

Filmed in one continuous take and in real time on the streets of Berlin, ‘Victoria’ immerses the viewer in a heart-stopping drama

9.8

The Half of It (2020)

An atmospheric romance that starts with “this is not a love story"

7.3

Nowhere (2023)

A riveting Spanish Netflix survival thriller brought to life in Anna Castillo’s performance

7.8

Entre Nos (2009)

An immigrant mother's first summer in New York

7.6

Holy Spider (2022)

A timely and terrifying noir that takes on systemic abuse and corruption in Iran

8.0

Julia (2008)

A kidnapping goes sideways in this intense, nerve-wracking thriller

7.1

Nyad (2023)

For all its flaws, this sometimes-cliched, sometimes-subversive sports drama is undeniably stirring

7.7

Maria Full of Grace (2004)

7.6

Elena Knows (2023)

A moving mother-daughter drama based on a Booker Prize shortlist novel

7.5

Saint Frances (2019)

7.6

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.