"On northern days an insect is born at 9a.m. and dies at 5p.m. How can it understand the word night? How can you understand the word love if you were never in love?"
Camila- 1984, Eduardo O'Gorman
Photo courtesy of http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087027/
CAMILA
The
major part of the film is set in 1847, featuring a high society Argentinian woman.
The film opens with a horse drawn carriage, surrounded by armed guards, approaching
a large estate. It is soon explained that the woman in the carriage is the
grandmother of Camila O’Gorman, who at this time was a small girl. The grandmother
has been sent to live with her estranged son and his family to complete her
house arrest.
The women
in the film were constantly ordained in heavy European style clothing, and even
when bathing, were clothed. Women were most often seen in church with lace head
coverings and even finer clothing than their usual. Church was the main social
entertainment for the women of this society and they usually attended some sort of mass or confession at least once a
day. There was not much offered in the form of entertainment for women in this
time period. They threw parties and teas for their friends and often
gathered to sew together, but overall their options were limited because anything
done outside of the house required male accompaniment.
Camila’s home was a sprawling hacienda. The
walls of the house were covered with ornate paintings and crown moldings. African
servants took care of the family and the estate, tending to their every need.
Even the African servants wore Rosas red in some form every day to show solidarity
with Caudillo Juan Manuel de Rosas, the current political-military leader at the
time.
The
film’s namesake and leading female character, Camila, was a passionate woman.
She was portrayed as a stubborn and head stung. Camila represented everything a
woman form this time period was not supposed to be. She embraced love and
sexuality. She read books banned by the government and went against her father’s
wishes, and even the law. She had the courage to run away from her comfortable lifestyle
and build a new life for herself, with a man she loved, in a place she had
never been.
Photo courtesy of http://www.proyectoallen.com.ar/3/?p=6095
There is a scene in
in the film which Camila sneaks up to her ailing grandmother’s apartments to
hear stories her adventures and lost loves. In the beginning of the film Camila
struggled with the idea of living the rest of her life in ease, but being tied
to a man she doesn’t love. Camila was fascinated by love and knew that she
could not spend the rest of her life pretending to love someone she didn’t.
Then she met Ladislao.
Ladislao
was an anti-Rosas priest with big ideas and a platform to shout them from. He
was guided by a strong moral compass, but thrown off course by the unexpected
love he found with Camila. Ladislao represented selflessness and devotion, although he couldn't always decide if his devotion should be for Camila or God and the church.
The film
presented the problems in this era with patriarchy. Camila’s father, Adolfo,
was the figurehead for this issue. From the beginning of the movie to the very
end he ruled his house with a domineering power. According to Adolfo, single
women cause anarchy and all women were instruments of the devil. Women were to
either be married off or sent away to a convent. He kept his own mother locked
away in his home and viewed his children as business investments. Adolfo’s
views on women, while partly shaped by the time period, may have been effected by
his mother’s affairs with different heads of state. Much of what Adolfo did was
carried out by other people. The kittens Adolfo had drowned were thrown in the ocean
by a servant, and the execution of his daughter, and ultimately grandchild were
carried out by a firing squad. While Adolfo had the most power in his home, he
didn’t have the nerve to take responsibility of any of it himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB0A6lc3jfs
This
type of dictatorship is similar to Rosas’ style of ruling. Adolfo ruled his
house with fear, just as Rosas ruled the country. Intimidation and threats kept
people in line while henchmen carried out the dirty work. Anyone who opposed their
ruling or dared to speak up was taken care of one way or another.
A major
intent of this film is the power of love. Because of love Camila and Ladislao
were able to run away and be happy. They were able to make sacrifices for each
other because of love. They were also ultimately able to face death with less
fear because of their love for each other. The film closes with the couple
being placed in one large coffin in a way that is reminiscent of them simply
sleeping in their bed as if to say they will be together forever and in love.
http://history.sffs.org/i/films/1985/
Another intent could be identified as challenging an unjust authority.
Whether it’s Camila and Ladislao running away from the law and Adolfo, or the firing
squad refusing to shoot a woman the questioning of authority is a reoccurring
theme. Camila’s mother even quietly under minds Adolfo’s authority by
encouraging her daughters and witty comments.
Overall I enjoyed this film, but from a historical standpoint Camila’s story was sensationalized
to make it seem like it was them against the world. In reality Adolfo was more sympathetic
and several people wrote letters in protest to Rosas imploring that they not be
executed. Also the film made it seem that Camila was only a month or two pregnant when they were exucuted, but in reality she was eight months pregnant. This real life Romeo and Juliet have a love story that will live on.
Image curtesy of: http://www.cineplex.com/Movie/camila/Photos
References
References
- Donald F. Stevens, “Passion and Patriarchy in Nineteenth-Century Argentina: María Luisa Bemberg’sCamila” in Based on a True Story Latin American History at the Movies
- Camila Powerpoint
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