UNC-CH and Duke Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Video Collection/Outreach Office
Contact
Information: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
3200
FedEx Global Education Center
Phone:
(919) 843-8888 Fax: (919)
962-0398
Email:
LA_films@unc.edu
LUCIA
16 minutes
Directed by: Humberto
Solás
Overview:
Lucía is an
anthology film, three separate stories related by the common theme of women in
revolution. It tells the stories of
three Lucías, one in 1895, when the Cubans fought for independence from the
Spaniards (a situation that resolved with US intervention and purchase of Cuba
form Spain); in 1933, when Cuban popular resistance against the dictator
Geraldo Machado resulted in failure; and in the early 1960s – in the aftermath
of the victory of the revolution led by Fidel Castro. They are women form three different classes;
the first is the upper class, the second is form the middle class, the third
form the working class. They have three different ranges of potential action
and responses. Each story is hung on a
love drama. In the first, the woman has
an affair with a Spanish soldier, in which she must betray her own family. In the second, a young woman abandons her
family and class to go underground with her soon to be slain husband; in the
third, a young wife learns how to read and write and work in collective agriculture, in spite
of a traditionally macho husband who tries to keep her in the house.
“The
events of each life portrayed focus around issues of politics, feminism, and
gender battles. Solás, the director,
explains that he made women the protagonists because ‘women are traditionally
the number one victims in all social confrontations. The woman’s role always lays bare the
contradictions of a period and makes them explicit.’ . . . Lucía was extremely
well received in Cuba, won many international awards, and is now an
international classic.” (Aufderheide)
Strengths and
Weaknesses:
Fabulously
done! This is a gorgeous film –
interestingly shot, with wonderful camera work and acting . . . “The film
demonstrates vividly and with great creativity the relationship between form
and content. The style of each segment
is distinctive and appropriate both to the tale and to evoking the epoch.”
(Aufderheide) It is extremely useful in
tracing women’s roles through time in a particular culture.
The
film’s third segment is now outdated and doesn’t represent current life in
Cuba.
Introducing
the Tape:
Teachers
could provide a bit more background about the Cuban/Spanish war and Cuban
political history for each of the time periods.
How
to Borrow this Video:
The
videos owned by the UNC-Duke Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
are housed in the Outreach Office of the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. They are lent free of charge. For information on films and reservations,
please visit http://isa.unc.edu/film/films_main.asp.
References:
Ranucci,
Karen, ed. A Guide to Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino-Made Film
and Video. Lanham, MD. Scarecrow Press. 1998.