A Beautiful Film and some Peruvian Reminiscing

Last night I finished watching Claudia Llosa's beautiful film La Teta Asustada or, as it is translated in English, The Milk of Sorrow. 

It's a Peruvian film I've seen described as "art house" and it has won a few awards. All I know is that the cinematography is breathtaking and the lead actress, Magaly Solier is amazing. 

google images, yay! 

(The trailer can be watched here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uo8Sl_WAuI)

At first I watched it on the DVD a lovely Peruvian friend had given me as a goodbye gift, which had no subtitles. My Spanish is getting rusty and while I got enough to follow the story, now and then I would miss a line. The DVD was scratched so I watched the rest of it on Netflix 

(it's on instant play! With English subtitles!). 

Google has an image of Magaly Solier in La Teta Asustada...how handy!

Turns out missing one line can really change your perception of the story.... the woman I thought was being supportive of Magaly's character was actually a lier and ungrateful pituca.

Perhaps language barriers sometimes give you a rosier perception of the world... 

The film is set in Lima and I felt near physical pangs, it made me miss it so much. 

The delicious food, stray dogs, sweet talking men, the music that gets the whole family dancing, and the random relatives whom you never know exactly how they are related. 

Perhaps they aren't. 

 That was my Peruvian experience anyway...

He is very likely a sweet talking Peruvian man/boy. 

Delicious food. 

Much of the movie was filmed in neighborhoods like this one, La Encantada, where I taught English.
It made me miss my students and friends there.  

The street the center where I taught was on.  

I kept shouting for my dad to come see the movie - "Look! Mototaxies! I rode those!" 

"Look, that looks exactly like where I taught!"

"Look at those super steep stairs....listen to that music....see what she is wearing?" 

My darling dad patiently watched every random scene I asked him too, and he likely thinks this was a movie about mototaxies, sand dunes and weddings. Which it is. Sorta. 

If you are interested in either Latin America or film, I highly recommend La Teta Asustada!  Also, it is directed by a WOMAN! 

And seeing as female directors are about as rare as jobs for Medieval Literature Majors, you should support them. 

Claudia Llosa, the director! (google images) 

Except for that one Twilight movie directed by a woman. 

No social reform movement or loyalty to my gender will lead me to support those films. 

P.S I am not getting paid for talking about any of this stuff...though I really should be, don't you think?