Casa de Bernarda Alba, La (1987)

Calificación de los usuarios:

6.5/10   

Director:

Mario Camus

Writers:

Mario Camus (writer)
Federico García Lorca (play)

Release Date:

3 abril 1987 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

After the death of her husband Bernada Alba puts her daughters under a rigurous mourning which does not even allow them to leave the house. |

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Mother Daughter Relationship | Tradition | Reputation | Oppression

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Heartbreak house

Cast

Irene Gutiérrez Caba	...	Bernarda Alba (as Irene Gutierrez Caba)
Ana Belén	...	Adela
Florinda Chico	...	Poncia
Enriqueta Carballeira	...	Angustias
Vicky Peña	...	Martirio (as Victoria Peña)
Aurora Pastor	...	Magdalena
Mercedes Lezcano	...	Amelia
Pilar Puchol	...	Criada
Rosario García Ortega		(as Rosario Ortega-Garcia)
Ana María Ventura	...	Prudencia (as Ana Maria Ventura)
Paula Soldevila	...	Muchacha (as Paula Borrell)
Álvaro Quiroga	...	Pepe el romano (as Alvaro Quiroga)
Fernanda de Utrera	...	(voice)

También conocida como:

The House of Bernarda Alba (USA)

Duración:

Spain:99 min

País:

Spain

Idioma:

Español

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sonido:

Mono

Company:

Paraiso Films S.A.

Quotes:

Poncia: Fifteen days after the wedding, men leave the bed for the table, and then the table for the tavern. Women who don't accept it end up crying in a corner.

Movie Connections:

Version of The House of Bernarda Alba (1991) (TV)

Heartbreak house

Federico Garcia Lorca's play "La casa de Bernarda Alba" was one of his best theatrical creations. Mario Camus, a Spanish director, seemed to be a natural to bring the play to the screen. Unfortunately, what comes out on the movie is not exactly what one envisioned of a Garcia Lorca work.

First of all, this is a film devoid of the poetry Garcia Lorca gave to the play. The somber atmosphere Mr. Camus insisted in giving the movie doesn't help things either. The tension between the mother and her daughters doesn't appear to be as deeply rooted. The basic fault of the film is that even though one realizes it is filmed theater, the movie feels more claustrophobic than it should be. To make matters worse, the DVD we saw recently, has one of the poorest translations of any foreign film, as only the beginning of a speech is seen subtitled, then, nothing more is added, leaving non Spanish speakers in limbo, trying to guess what was a character saying.

There was a production of this play in Spain in the years that followed Franco's death in which the Bernarda Alba character was played by a man, Ismael Merlo, who made a sensational Bernarda by playing her straight. That production was done in a white set with everyone dressed also in white. That vision of the play is still vivid in our mind and this film pales in comparison.