The Punishment (2022 film)

The Punishment (Spanish: El castigo) is a 2022 Chilean-Argentine drama film directed by Matías Bize and written by Coral Cruz. Starring Antonia Zegers and Nestor Cantillana. The film was named on the shortlist for Chilean's entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, but it was not selected.

Synopsis
Ana and Mateo look for their son after leaving him alone for a few minutes as punishment for misbehaving. This desperate search leads them to a forest and a road. In 80 minutes in real time, the couple must face fear, guilt, the fragility of their union, and the harshest of revelations: a part of Ana hopes she won't find her son because she hasn't been happy since he was born.

Cast
The actors participating in this film are:


 * Antonia Zegers as Ana
 * Néstor Cantillana as Mateo
 * Santiago Urbina as Lucas
 * Catalina Saavedra
 * Yair Juri

Production
Principal photography was planned to start in March 2020, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The start date was postponed 1 year, but it was canceled due to the same circumstances. Finally, filming began in October 2021.

Release
It was released commercially on October 6, 2022, in Chilean theaters, then premiered on November 19 of the same year at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. It premiered on March 31, 2023, in Spanish cinemas. It was also invited to the 27th Lima Film Festival in the Competition fiction section, where it was screened on 12 August 2023.

Critical reception
Jonathan Holland from Screendaily highlights the great work of its director in bringing fluidity to the risky decision of shooting an entire movie in one take. In addition, to provide intensity to an unoriginal base story, but which ends up catching the viewer in its development.