Prayers for the Stolen

Name: Prayers for the Stolen
Genre: Drama
Released: November 17, 2021
Duration: 110 min
Rating: 83
Cast: Alejandra Camacho, Ana Cristina Ordóñez González, David Illescas, Eileen Yañez, Gabriela Núñez

2021

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 14 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Ratings

See All

7.8

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

7.8	Your Score
7.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Prayers For The Stolen (US Trailer 1)

Now Playing: Prayers For The Stolen (US Trailer 1)

Movie Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date: November 17, 2021 | R

Starring: Alejandra Camacho, Ana Cristina Ordóñez González, David Illescas, Eileen Yañez, Gabriela Núñez, Marya Membreño, Mayra Batalla, Memo Villegas, Norma Pablo, Olivia Lagunas, Teresa Sánchez

Summary: In a solitary town nestled in the Mexican mountains, the girls wear boyish haircuts and have hiding places underground. Ana and her two best friends take over the houses of those who have fled and dress up as women when no one is watching. In their own impenetrable universe, magic and joy abound; meanwhile, their mothers train them to fleeIn a solitary town nestled in the Mexican mountains, the girls wear boyish haircuts and have hiding places underground. Ana and her two best friends take over the houses of those who have fled and dress up as women when no one is watching. In their own impenetrable universe, magic and joy abound; meanwhile, their mothers train them to flee from those who turn them into slaves or ghosts. But one day, one of the girls doesn’t make it to her hideout in time. … Expand

Director: Tatiana Huezo

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 110 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Stream On

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

The Playlist Carlos Aguilar

Nov 16, 2021

"Prayers” stands as a continuation of [Huezo’s] brilliance and expands it to a storytelling format with distinct tools for engagement, yet the impact is just as searing. Huezo’s ardor for humanistic examination loses no fire in this metamorphosis. Read full review

100

Christopher Machell

Apr 12, 2022

Prayers for the Stolen is fundamentally an account of powerlessness, of the insidious ways that forces act invisibly, immeasurably, and often horrifically on those with the least ability to resist them. Read full review

100

The Observer (UK) Wendy Ide

Apr 12, 2022

It captures the wary, precarious nature of a community that relies financially on the same forces – the rampaging drug cartels – that also terrorise it. Huezo taps into the intense vibration between young female friends who treasure each other above all else. Read full review

Wendy Ide

Nov 16, 2021

Huezo’s picture, which is loosely adapted from a novel by Jennifer Climent, is distinctive in its child’s-eye-view of this most abnormal of normalities. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Sheila O'Malley

Nov 17, 2021

Of all of the things Tatiana Huezo captures in Prayers for the Stolen, her first narrative feature, the terror of the night is most unnerving. Read full review

IndieWire Susannah Gruder

Sep 30, 2021

Told through the lens of three girls as they grow up in a rural town in the Guerrero mountains, Huezo’s film is a murky, mesmerizing look at what it feels like to come of age in a place where young women have a target on their backs, and where the adults are as powerless as the children. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Nov 23, 2021

A movie that progresses at this rate gives you a lot of time to pick over what it’s really getting at. Read full review

SEE ALL 14 REVIEWS

Write a Review

Negative:

User Reviews

LuissDt

Apr 26, 2022

Tatiana Huezo's work is magnificent, Prayers for the Stolen is heartbreaking, cute and beautiful that goes down in the history of Mexican cinema

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ChanekeCholo

Jan 9, 2022

De buenas a primeras, no creo que esta sea la mejor película mexicana del año, pero opino, que sí la que tiene la mejor dirección. Esta película recuerda mucho a los primeros trabajos de Alejandro González Iñarritu, no tanto en estilo, sino en sentimientos y emociones fuertes.
Nuevamente,De buenas a primeras, no creo que esta sea la mejor película mexicana del año, pero opino, que sí la que tiene la mejor dirección. Esta película recuerda mucho a los primeros trabajos de Alejandro González Iñarritu, no tanto en estilo, sino en sentimientos y emociones fuertes.
Nuevamente, muestra la pureza y la fragilidad de personas vulnerables a situaciones bastante despreciables y despiadadas, pero lográndolo de una manera bastante eficaz y original, con una puesta en escena bastante interesante y bien cuidada, y con unas excelentes actuaciones por parte de todo el elenco, las cuales hacen que la película fluya de manera orgánica y nos hace sentir que somos un participe más de la historia.
Sin mencionar la representación de un problema que lamentablemente está bastante presente en la sociedad y son los feminicidios, no quiero entrar en temas de ideología, pero muchos desprestigian el termino de que las mujeres son maltratadas e incluso asesinadas solo por ser mujeres, esta película no te deja duda alguna de que esta situación es gravísima y espero logre callar y cambiar su mentalidad a aquellos escépticos.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

alejandro970

Mar 20, 2022

De lo hecho más recientemente en México, pone el punto sobre la I en respecto al tema de cómo los pueblos de las serranías son afectados por los narcotraficantes, y lo que deben hacer para proteger a los más vulnerables: las niñas. Una mirada valiente que todos debemos ver.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

DawdlingPoet

Aug 7, 2022

This is quite a moving film (as in poignant) which gives a good insight into the life of a female adolescent (Ana) suddenly in a war setting while living with her mum at home. It makes for some sobering viewing - we're given a good idea of some circumstances which Ana is shielded from andThis is quite a moving film (as in poignant) which gives a good insight into the life of a female adolescent (Ana) suddenly in a war setting while living with her mum at home. It makes for some sobering viewing - we're given a good idea of some circumstances which Ana is shielded from and for reasonable reasons. Its hard not to feel sorry for her. I thought Marya Membreno gave a great performance as the protagonist - her vulnerability really showing well.

This film doesn't shy away from things, although its not gartuitously violent, it suggests unpleasant practices, such as I assume FGM, so its not a film to be watched with an entirely sensitive or youngish audience I suppose. I thought it was a well made film, there's enough balance between thoughtful dialogue, character development and plot development. I would recommend this film, yes - it has a chilling feel to it at points and, as I say, not in a tacky way - I can't imagine not being compassionate towards Anas situation, hoping for the best for her.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Richard552

Aug 12, 2022

And, for a young girl being raised by a single mother who receives no financial support from their absent husband/father, $1 to buy a Netflix account, Google search: vtvshare

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

bertobellamy

Nov 17, 2021

"Noche de Fuego" is fiction through documentary: a heartbreaking inside look at what it means to be a woman at the mercy of violence. A dead-end where the only thing that pushes them to continue is the support of another woman.

Tatiana Huezo retains her vision as she leaps into fiction."Noche de Fuego" is fiction through documentary: a heartbreaking inside look at what it means to be a woman at the mercy of violence. A dead-end where the only thing that pushes them to continue is the support of another woman.

Tatiana Huezo retains her vision as she leaps into fiction. Walking us through the town where the action takes place - specifically with the company of the three leading girls and their families - the director asks us to stop for a moment and live with these people, who live under the invisible shadow of violence.

While her documentary work feels more powerful, her first drama feature is accurate and revealing. This is the step that Huezo had to take to continue rising in her career without neglecting what brought her here.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Brent_Marchant

Feb 23, 2022

Growing up is difficult enough even under the best of circumstances, but, for the children of a small mountainous Mexican village in the poppy field region, it's nearly impossible. Threats from indiscriminate herbicide spraying, rampant violence, brutal drug cartels, the kidnapping of youngGrowing up is difficult enough even under the best of circumstances, but, for the children of a small mountainous Mexican village in the poppy field region, it's nearly impossible. Threats from indiscriminate herbicide spraying, rampant violence, brutal drug cartels, the kidnapping of young girls for sex trafficking, ubiquitous protection rackets, and the sometimes-reckless, sometimes-dubious practices of police and military personnel all have everyone on edge, especially children and adolescents who struggle to keep from being caught in the cross-fire. And, for a young girl being raised by a single mother who receives no financial support from their absent husband/father, the only ones in her corner are her friends and teachers, who try to help her make the best of a truly bad situation. Director Tatiana Huezo's debut narrative feature presents a sensitive yet gritty depiction of the cruelty and unfairness of what the embattled protagonist is up against. The picture genuinely feels more like a documentary than a work of fiction (understandable given the filmmaker's extensive work in that genre), depicting its material in brilliant, incisive, gorgeous cinematography. Admittedly, the production begins to drag a bit in the second hour, but that's incidental compared to the other fine attributes of this work, a well-deserved Cannes Film Festival winner and Independent Spirit Award nominee. It's unfortunate that such a disturbing topic makes for such a moving film, but this is a classic case of art doing a world of good to draw attention to a subject sorely in need of being addressed -- and, one would hope, corrected.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SEE ALL 7 REVIEWS