Overview
A tale of longing and stagnation in a colonial outpost, where ambition meets the harsh realities of power.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Moderate
- oppressive
- surreal
- melancholic
- arthouse film night
- historical cinema evening
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a visually arresting, intellectually rigorous, and unsettling historical drama whose colonial absurdism is sustained by Lucrecia Martel's direction and Daniel Giménez Cacho's performance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Zama remains trapped in a provincial post while successive governors manipulate his duties and transfer prospects.
The protagonist spends years awaiting a royal letter that never reliably arrives, making bureaucratic delay the film's central condition.
The South American colonial environment is presented through disorienting sound, elliptical encounters, and dreamlike shifts in perception.
Zama's self-image depends on his Crown office even as governors, rivals, and colonial hierarchies repeatedly reduce his agency.
Films like Zama, and why
Embrace of the Serpent
shared colonial critique, oppressive absurdity, and psychologically dislocated historical atmosphere
The Battle of Algiers
shared anti-colonial perspective, surreal historical setting, and critique of authoritarian masculinity
The New World
shared languid pacing, existential isolation, and formally audacious historical drama
The Lobster
shared bureaucratic absurdity, alienated protagonist, and dreamlike instability
Movie Details
- Director
- Lucrecia Martel
- Release Date
- 2017-09-28
- Runtime
- 115 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (185)
Cast
- Daniel Giménez Cacho
- Lola Dueñas
- Matheus Nachtergaele
- Juan Minujín
- Nahuel Cano
- Mariana Nunes
- Carlos Defeo
- Rafael Spregelburd
- Daniel Veronese
- Germán de Silva
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Metrograph, Strand Releasing Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Zama about?
- A stranded colonial officer's desperate wait for reassignment becomes a surreal reckoning with power, masculinity, and imperial absurdity.
- What is Zama like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Zama as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is Zama violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Zama as moderate.
- What did critics think of Zama?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a visually arresting, intellectually rigorous, and unsettling historical drama whose colonial absurdism is sustained by Lucrecia Martel's direction and Daniel Giménez Cacho's performance.
- Which films are like Zama?
- Films with a similar feel include Embrace of the Serpent, The Battle of Algiers, The New World, and The Lobster.
- How long is Zama?
- Zama runs 115 minutes.
- Where can I watch Zama?
- In United States, Zama streams on Metrograph, Strand Releasing Amazon Channel.
