Yo, La Pedor de Toda Film Review

Yo, La Pedor de Toda Film Review

  • Submitted By: x4y2
  • Date Submitted: 12/09/2008 10:15 AM
  • Category: History Other
  • Words: 453
  • Page: 2
  • Views: 546

The film by director Maria Luisa Bemberg, Yo, La Pedor De Toda, is an insightful adaptation of the life of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz from the biography of Sor Juana by Octavio Paz. The film is presented to the audience through the eyes of an observer in a way to highlight the tragedy of Sor Juana’s confinement due more to the time period than the convent. The film appeals to the viewer on behalf of Sor Juana and the injustices she faced on a daily basis.
Few details could have been added to make this film improved. The important aspects of Sor Juana’s young years were shown during the flash backs when she visited her dieing Mother and entertained the Vicereine. This gave the viewers just enough history of Sor Juana to have a greater understanding of who she was.
Sor Juana, a seventeenth-century Mexican nun, with a profound mind, created some of the most brilliant poems and essays of all time, and yet she was ruined by an aversion of women and intolerance of the Inquisition. Her outspokenness was especially dangerous for her when one considers the historical context. Anyone who defied the papacy during this time period could undoubtedly find himself or herself in trouble.
Sor Juana's comedias performed for the nobility, and their familiarity with her work suggest the affluence of New Spain during the Counter-Reformation. Although Yo, La Pedor De Toda may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in terms of today’s concern over equality for women. Yo, La Pedor De Toda highlights and illustrates Octavio Paz's biography, while ultimately honoring the ongoing struggle of women in Mesoamerica.
The film was portrayed through an extremely factual approach to the time period and to Sor Juana’s life. Because of the approach of the filmmakers to present their adaptation of Sor Juana in such an accurate way, great care had to be taken with the sets, lighting, and costumes. A challenge was presented both technically and aesthetically. A way had to be found to bring...

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