May 14, 2026 4:54pm PT

‘Ashes’ Review: Diego Luna Helms a Middling, Meandering Migration Drama

Premiering in the Special Screenings section at Cannes, the actor’s latest directorial effort offers worthwhile performances, but little else.

Siddhant Adlakha

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Siddhant Adlakha

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Courtesy of La Corriente del Golfo

Bound by a common language and torrid history, 21-year-old Mexican nanny Lucila (Anna Diaz) bristles against her surroundings in Madrid, where she and her younger brother followed their mother from their Mexican hometown. “Ashes” shares these broad strokes with the novel on which it’s based — Brenda Navarro’s evocatively titled “Ceniza en la boca,” or “A Mouthful of Ash” — but even those unfamiliar with the book might still be tipped off to the haphazard nature of Diego Luna’s adaptation. The film plays out like a tale where too much has been relegated to the margins and left between the cuts, where the performances shine but their emotional foundations have been laid in reverse.