Feature film
Portrait of Maria
María Candelaria
Emilio Fernández · 1944
Synopsis
Xochimilco, in 1909. María Candelaria, a young Indian woman, is rejected by her own people because of her mother. She loves Lorenzo Rafael, but don Damián, the mestizo shopkeeper, opposes their marriage. When María falls ill with malaria, don Damián refuses to sell them quinine; Lorenzo steals the remedy and a wedding dress, and ends up in prison. To have him released, María agrees to pose for a painter.
Context
Produced by Films Mundiales, from a story by the director adapted with Mauricio Magdaleno, the film was shot from August 1943 and photographed by Gabriel Figueroa. It was released on 20 January 1944 at the Palacio cinema in Mexico City. Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz play Indigenous characters in it, which has fuelled debate about its stereotypes; Alberto Galán plays the painter. Two years later, it was selected in competition at Cannes.
Who it is for
A melodrama one hour and thirty-five minutes long, in Spanish, carried by its imagery; released on DVD in France.
Prizes and reception
Grand Prix, shared, and prize for cinematography at the first post-war Cannes festival, in 1946; the same prize for image at Locarno in 1947.
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