Cannes 2026: Forever Your Maternal Animal
2026 Cannes Film Festival
While cinema allows for wild narratives of drama and action to be brought to life, oftentimes the most compelling angles are the smaller stories that reflect the natural complexity and emotions of life. Screening as part of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, Valentina Maurel's Forever Your Maternal Animal centers on 28-year-old Elsa (Daniela Marín Navarro) as she returns to her hometown of San José, Costa Rica, after living in Europe. When she returns home, Elsa is greeted by a mess. Elsa's younger sister, Amalia (Mariangel Villegas), has changed the locks on her house and has neglected upkeep of the property, which also partly belongs to Elsa. She has refused to let the cleaners in to clean the house or the plumber to fix a leak causing water damage, and has taken her 2nd gap year in a row from University with seemingly no plan on returning. Elsa's mother, Isabel (Marina de Tavira), is about to republish an old collection of poems she wrote before she had children, bringing to light deeply rooted emotions that also weigh on Elsa. Elsa is caught between these two forces, feeling like she has to support both, even if neither seems to appreciate it.
Forever Your Maternal Animal is a masterful piece of cinema that finds a tremendous amount of meaning in the situation it portrays. Rather than playing into the extraordinary, the film finds a grounded weight between the three women at the center of the film that is sure to speak to audiences, depending on where they are in their own lives. There is a deeply relatable truth buried within the struggle of each character, explicitly shaped by age. Amalia is stuck, feeling lost in her young adulthood. Amalia doesn't know what crowd to be part of or how she should live her life. While she has different voices pushing her in different directions, Amalia struggles to identify what is right for her. Elsa is further along in the process, having crafted a life of her own, but being forced to step backwards to take care of her family. She feels alone and frustrated in the process, as it seems like both her sister and mother are actively pulling away from the support she is trying to give. She feels like she has to step in as a parental figure to both of them, a role she never asked for. Isabel is looking back at her life, seeing what her life could have been had she not chosen the path she did. Isabel largely gave up her career and dreams to raise a family, and is now reckoning with that choice as she revisits her old work. This force only exacerbates the pressure on Elsa, who begins to feel guilt for what her mother has given up for her. There is no way for Elsa to repay her mom, but there is also her current frustration with her that broods.
Every audience member will find something between these women that feels relatable and real. This speaks to the talents of Maurel as a writer. Her ability to bring out these deeply human and deeply real emotions is remarkable. Her writing uses cinema as a tool to hold a mirror to the audience, asking them to reflect on their own relationships and point in life, while also challenging them to show empathy and understanding for those at different stages in their development. Life is hard, and at every stage, there are new struggles to be found. Forever Your Maternal Animal is a wonderful text showcasing this, validating these struggles without ever excusing or ignoring the negative effects they can have both on oneself and those around them.
The film is also gorgeously made. The cinematography by Nicolás Wong is thoughtful and specific, playing around with framing and movement in an evolution from his already impressive work in 2019's La Llorona. The film plays with visual perspective. When Elsa first goes to visit her mother, the shot looks down at her from her mom's apartment, showing her as a dot among others passing by, like an ant standing on the ground. The distance Elsa has felt from her mother is not only spoken about, but is being seen and felt. When there is a closer connection or conversation, the shots become less static, taking on a greater intimacy and roughness, as if the audience is sitting in the room following along with the conversation. Choices like these elevate the film greatly, showing the thought put into the production from every angle.
Forever Your Maternal Animal is something special. Maurel and her crew outdo themselves, creating a meaningful family drama that lands with perfection. The emotions throughout the film are not always simple to digest or accept, especially depending on the audience's personal connection to the various subjects, but the film offers great reward and perspective to those who are whilling to engage with it.
