Cinema
Cuatro vidas
José Giaccardi · 1949
Synopsis
On a newly cleared plantation in Guatemala, a mother raises four children, two born to her, Gregorio and Marina, and two adopted, Fernando and Carmen. The adopted children fall in love with those of the household, the amorous rivalries turn bitter, and a maid finds herself pregnant by her employer. The melodrama unfolds between the shores of a highland lake, the Maya ruins and the processions of a colonial town.
Context
Co-produced by Producciones Brooks, Guatemala Films and a Central American company, from a screenplay by Óscar J. Brooks, the film was shot at Lake Atitlán, San Antonio Palopó, Tikal and Antigua, with Esther Fernández and Antonio Badú, who had just divorced. It was released in Mexico on 11 November 1949 and opens with a route traced on a map, from Mexico to Guatemala. It shows the processions of three churches in Antigua, a waltz by a Guatemalan composer can be heard, and an actress from the country plays the mother.
Who it is for
A melodrama in Spanish, one hour fifteen, in black and white; the musical and documentary sequences are worth more than the plot.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the first feature-length fiction film shot in Guatemala, in co-production with Mexico.