A Really Good Movie
Added 11/13/2008
"Dona Herlinda and her Son"
A Really Good Movie
Amos Lassen
I really love it when I enjoy a movie from start to finish and "Dona Herlinda and her Son' is one of those movies. Now Strand Releasing a new digitally remastered DVD of the film and that is wonderful news because the older disk is flawed and takes some of the fun away from the film.
Here is a compassionate satire on both appearances and acceptance. The film was originally made in 1985 and looking at it now, I realized how far ahead of its time that it was.
Guadalupe del Toro is the heroine as she plays Rodolfo's mother and she invites his friend Ramon to live with them in their large home in Guadalajara and explains that her son has a large bedroom and she insists that Ramon is a member of the family. In fact when Rodolfo marries and leaves the house, she convinces Ramon to stay on. Even with the marriage, everyone knows that the two men are lovers. Herlinda pretends that she does not know this even when she walks in on them being intimate. She is the one that pushes the men together.
I think what makes the movie so endearing is its openness and sincerity and the viewer must overlook the flaws and sit back and enjoy it for what it is--a wonderful love story. It is well thought out and original. I imagine it was quite scandalous in Mexico when it first came out because homosexuality was only spoken about there in whispers, The situation that the movie presents is universal--it just happens to take place in Mexico. I think the camera work is amazing and the movie gives us a look at how homosexuality was regarded in Mexico.
Dona Herlinda is special; there are not and have not been many women like her. She is a widow who only wants her son to be happy. The fact that her son is gay and will not give her grandchildren is not a problem for her. Rodolfo does whatever his mother says and she projects a kind of naïve innocence but still manages to commandeer her son's actions without his realizing it. The gay relationship is given to us in a warm way with no value judgments and we see that happiness is the most important attribute of family. We also get a commentary on Mexican society.
All of the cast turn in wonderful performances in this movie which very probably be regarded as one of the milestones in gay cinema.
1 out of 3 people found this helpful.
|
Something For Everyone
Added 6/4/2008
And they all live together-- yes, that's pretty much what happens in this Mexican comedy directed by Jaime Humberto Hermosillo. Young doctor (Rodolpho) has humpy young music student (Ramon) for his boyfriend. But in Mexico men don't live with men, or at least successful physicians with mothers like Dona Herlinda who orchestrates Ramon's moving in with her and Rodolpho, then arranges the wedding of her son to Olga. Men in this situation reproduce themselves as does Rodolpho. Ramon attends the christening of course and gets in all the family photographs. But then he is family. As Rodolpho says to Ramon about the new baby, "He seems as if he is ours." There are a lot of very funny scenes in this film, not the least of which is that Rodolpho is getting the old dirty from Ramon when he gets the call that Olga is going into labor. Since she won't be going to be hospital until everyone gets ready, the two men finish what they have started. In another scene Dona relates to a group of friends that although Rodolpho was born left-handed, she taught him to use his right hand so he is now ambidextrous.
Everyone here seems to have the best of all possible worlds. This complex arrangement may not be what many of us in the U. S. would relish. If it works for this family, then I suppose it ought to work for us.
A word about the DVD: the captions are misspelled and are sometimes so fast that they are impossible to read.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
A cute story, but poorly put together.
Added 9/7/2006
Technically, this DVD is awful. The film transfer was poorly executed, and the subtitles are challenging even for the fastest of readers. I found myself constantly replaying bits to catch subtitles that were on the screen for literally 7 frames.
From the standpoint of filmmaking in 2006, this film is awful too. It is poorly paced, edited, and photographed. And don't get me started on the audio mix.
BUT...
I am constantly reminded that a good story and good acting can still make a movie like this watchable.
For a low-budget feature from 1985, it's ok.
2 out of 4 people found this helpful.
|
cute story waste of money
Added 10/19/2005
while the story is cute the quality of the acting, cinematography, costumes, and DVD are about as bad as it gets the only film I've seen thats worse is: by hook or by crook. The subtitles go by so fast even evelyn wood could not keep up with them. the sound is like a bad dubbing and the acting is unbelievably bad. It would be nice to see it remade with a good cast aand crew
1 out of 6 people found this helpful.
|
The Two Lovers
Added 3/23/2005
Nice story but mediocre acting and mediocre bodies. Surely the producers could have found better looking lovers. One is too old and the other one has a hair problem.
2 out of 15 people found this helpful.
|
A Really Good Movie
Added 11/13/2008
"Dona Herlinda and her Son"
A Really Good Movie
Amos Lassen
I really love it when I enjoy a movie from start to finish and "Dona Herlinda and her Son' is one of those movies. Now Strand Releasing a new digitally remastered DVD of the film and that is wonderful news because the older disk is flawed and takes some of the fun away from the film.
Here is a compassionate satire on both appearances and acceptance. The film was originally made in 1985 and looking at it now, I realized how far ahead of its time that it was.
Guadalupe del Toro is the heroine as she plays Rodolfo's mother and she invites his friend Ramon to live with them in their large home in Guadalajara and explains that her son has a large bedroom and she insists that Ramon is a member of the family. In fact when Rodolfo marries and leaves the house, she convinces Ramon to stay on. Even with the marriage, everyone knows that the two men are lovers. Herlinda pretends that she does not know this even when she walks in on them being intimate. She is the one that pushes the men together.
I think what makes the movie so endearing is its openness and sincerity and the viewer must overlook the flaws and sit back and enjoy it for what it is--a wonderful love story. It is well thought out and original. I imagine it was quite scandalous in Mexico when it first came out because homosexuality was only spoken about there in whispers, The situation that the movie presents is universal--it just happens to take place in Mexico. I think the camera work is amazing and the movie gives us a look at how homosexuality was regarded in Mexico.
Dona Herlinda is special; there are not and have not been many women like her. She is a widow who only wants her son to be happy. The fact that her son is gay and will not give her grandchildren is not a problem for her. Rodolfo does whatever his mother says and she projects a kind of naïve innocence but still manages to commandeer her son's actions without his realizing it. The gay relationship is given to us in a warm way with no value judgments and we see that happiness is the most important attribute of family. We also get a commentary on Mexican society.
All of the cast turn in wonderful performances in this movie which very probably be regarded as one of the milestones in gay cinema.
1 out of 3 people found this helpful.
|
Something For Everyone
Added 6/4/2008
And they all live together-- yes, that's pretty much what happens in this Mexican comedy directed by Jaime Humberto Hermosillo. Young doctor (Rodolpho) has humpy young music student (Ramon) for his boyfriend. But in Mexico men don't live with men, or at least successful physicians with mothers like Dona Herlinda who orchestrates Ramon's moving in with her and Rodolpho, then arranges the wedding of her son to Olga. Men in this situation reproduce themselves as does Rodolpho. Ramon attends the christening of course and gets in all the family photographs. But then he is family. As Rodolpho says to Ramon about the new baby, "He seems as if he is ours." There are a lot of very funny scenes in this film, not the least of which is that Rodolpho is getting the old dirty from Ramon when he gets the call that Olga is going into labor. Since she won't be going to be hospital until everyone gets ready, the two men finish what they have started. In another scene Dona relates to a group of friends that although Rodolpho was born left-handed, she taught him to use his right hand so he is now ambidextrous.
Everyone here seems to have the best of all possible worlds. This complex arrangement may not be what many of us in the U. S. would relish. If it works for this family, then I suppose it ought to work for us.
A word about the DVD: the captions are misspelled and are sometimes so fast that they are impossible to read.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
A cute story, but poorly put together.
Added 9/7/2006
Technically, this DVD is awful. The film transfer was poorly executed, and the subtitles are challenging even for the fastest of readers. I found myself constantly replaying bits to catch subtitles that were on the screen for literally 7 frames.
From the standpoint of filmmaking in 2006, this film is awful too. It is poorly paced, edited, and photographed. And don't get me started on the audio mix.
BUT...
I am constantly reminded that a good story and good acting can still make a movie like this watchable.
For a low-budget feature from 1985, it's ok.
2 out of 4 people found this helpful.
|
