Hurricane Season (Spanish: Temporada de huracanes) is a 2023 Mexican drama film directed by Elisa Miller, from a screenplay she wrote with Daniela Gómez. It is based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Fernanda Melchor.[2] The film begins with a group of teenagers who discover the corpse of La Bruja, a woman respected and feared by the community, floating in a canal near the village of La Matosa in the state of Veracruz.
The film premiered on 21 October 2023 at the Morelia International Film Festival, where Miller and Gómez won the Best Screenplay award. It was released on Netflix on 1 November 2023. It received 11 nominations at the 66th Ariel Awards, and won 3 awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Makeup.
Plot
In the village of La Matosa, a group of teenagers find the body of La Bruja, a woman both respected and feared by the community, floating in a canal. The events leading up to her murder are explored in five acts, titled for different characters and focusing on their perspectives and involvement, to produce a layered and non-linear narrative that gradually reveals the dark secrets of their town and its inhabitants.[3]
After reading the novel, the director Elisa Miller sought to obtain the screen rights to the work, and together with Daniela Gómez she was in charge of writing the screenplay.[4] The film was part of the Que México se vea initiative, a Netflix project focused on promoting Mexican cinema.[5] The film adaptation was first announced by Netflix in April 2022. Produced by Mexico's Woo Films, principal photography began in summer 2022.[6][7] It was filmed over six weeks in the state of Tabasco, including in the municipalities of Paraíso, Jalpa de Méndez, Nacajuca, Teapa, Cárdenas and Centla.[8] The cast includes many actors with theatre backgrounds who are performing in their first film roles.[4]
Release
Hurricane Season was selected to compete in the Mexican Feature Film section of the 21st Morelia International Film Festival,[9] where the film had its world premiere on 21 October 2023.[4] It was given a limited theatrical release before being released on Netflix on 1 November 2023.[4]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10.[10]
