‘Forever Your Maternal Animal’ Review: Valentina Maurel Makes a Hangout Movie for the Arthouse Crowd

May 25, 2026 4:48pm PT ‘Forever Your Maternal Animal’ Review: Valentina Maurel Makes a Hangout Movie for the Arthouse Crowd

This Costa Rica-set drama threatens to dissolve into nothingness, but is held together by three grounding performances — awarded the Un Certain Regard Best Actress prize at Cannes.

By Murtada Elfadl

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Murtada Elfadl

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About halfway into “Forever Your Maternal Animal,” a striking confession appears almost out of nowhere. The two main characters in the film, sisters in their early twenties, are sitting in a mall restaurant when the younger one says she has sex with the spirits who visit her room at night. She’s so detailed in her description as to make her claim utterly believable. Up until that point, the film has been a drama about a family in quiet crisis — so when the older sister reacts in stunned confusion, she mirrors the audience, who may start rethinking what kind of film they are watching.

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