Camila (film)
Encyclopedia
Camila is a 1984
Argentine
film directed by María Luisa Bemberg, based on the story of the 19th-century Argentine socialite Camila O'Gorman
. The story had previously been adapted in 1910 by Mario Gallo
, the now considered lost film
Camila O'Gorman. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
marking the second time an Argentine film was submitted for this award.
(Susú Pecoraro
), a pillar of Buenos Aires
society, belongs to a family which enthusiastically supports Argentine
dictator
Juan Manuel de Rosas
. She is engaged to Ignacio, a wealthy man with whom she is not in love. When her fellow socialites advise her to not let Ignacio get away, she describes her longing for a husband she could love and feel proud of. Secretly, she reads literature critical of the regime by author Esteban Echeverría
. She also openly speaks her views, which enrages her father. One day, during confession
, she meets a Jesuit priest, Father Ladislao Gutiérrez (Imanol Arias
). Camila immediately develops a crush on him, but after hearing Fr. Ladislao denounce the regime's death squads from the pulpit, she falls deeply in love. Fr. Ladislao first attempts to beat his feelings for Camila out with a whip, but finally surrenders to her advances. They begin a clandestine affair.
They escape the family hacienda
and elope to Corrientes Province
, where Fr. Ladislao poses as a school teacher. While Camila is ecstatic with happiness, Ladislao is torn between his love for Camila and a deep longing for the abandoned duties of his priesthood. They are identified, however, during an Easter
celebration by Father Gannon, a priest who knows them both. The village commandant informs Camila that he will not arrest her until morning and advises her and Ladislao to cross into Brazil
. However, Fr. Gannon's words about how, "God does not forget his chosen," have brought Fr. Ladislao's troubled conscience to a crisis. He runs to the village church and screams at the eucharist
, demanding to know why God
cannot leave him in peace. However, he decides that he must return to Buenos Aires
and do penance before his Bishop. The resulting delay prevents him and Camila from escaping and leaves the commandant with little choice other than to arrest them.
Meanwhile, Camila's father, Adolfo O'Gorman, is enraged by how the family name has been dragged through the mud by Camila's actions. Despite the pleas of Ignacio and the rest of the family, he writes to President Rosas and demands the death penalty for his daughter. With both the Church Hierarchy and his political allies demanding blood and his exiled opponents using the scandal to mock his rule, the President orders Camila and Fr. Ladislao to be shot without trial.
In a military prison, Camila and Fr. Ladislao are forbidden to see each other. While imprisoned, Camila learns that she is carrying Fr. Ladislao's child. Despite the fact that the Law of Argentina
forbids the execution of pregnant women, Rosas refuses to delay or commute Camila's sentence. Before they are confronted by a firing squad, the prison chaplain gives Camila holy water
to drink and thus baptizes
her unborn child. Fr. Ladislao sends her a final letter affirming his love for her and saying that, because they could not be together on earth, they will be reunited in heaven
before the throne of God
.
Although the firing squad guns down Fr. Ladislao without a second thought, they initially refuse to kill a woman. When their Captain threatens to kill them if they refuse, they open fire and shoot Camila in the stomach. Their bodies are then dumped into the same coffin. The couple's final words are told once more in voiceover
. "Ladislao, are you there?" "Close to you, Camila."
1984 in film
-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
Argentine
Cinema of Argentina
The cinema of Argentina has a tradition dating back to the late nineteenth century, and continues to play a role in the culture of Argentina....
film directed by María Luisa Bemberg, based on the story of the 19th-century Argentine socialite Camila O'Gorman
Camila O'Gorman
Camila O'Gorman was a wealthy socialite and figure of scandal in 19th century Argentina. She was executed during the last stages of pregnancy.-Early life:...
. The story had previously been adapted in 1910 by Mario Gallo
Mario Gallo (director)
Mario Gallo was an Italian born Argentine film director of the 1900s and 1910s and one of the earliest directors in the Cinema of Argentina. He directed what is nowadays considered the first fiction feature movie, El Fusilamiento de Dorrego, now lost...
, the now considered lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
Camila O'Gorman. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
marking the second time an Argentine film was submitted for this award.
Synopsis
It is 1847 and Camila O'GormanCamila O'Gorman
Camila O'Gorman was a wealthy socialite and figure of scandal in 19th century Argentina. She was executed during the last stages of pregnancy.-Early life:...
(Susú Pecoraro
Susú Pecoraro
Susú Pecoraro is Argentine film and television actress.-Career:Susana Raquel Pecoraro was born in Buenos Aires in 1952. She enrolled at the Dramatic Arts Conservatory in 1970 and graduated in 1975. She debuted in the theatre of Argentina in 1976, with a role in Yo, Argentino , and on television in...
), a pillar of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
society, belongs to a family which enthusiastically supports Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
. She is engaged to Ignacio, a wealthy man with whom she is not in love. When her fellow socialites advise her to not let Ignacio get away, she describes her longing for a husband she could love and feel proud of. Secretly, she reads literature critical of the regime by author Esteban Echeverría
Esteban Echeverría
José Esteban Antonio Echeverría was an Argentine poet, fiction writer, cultural promoter, and political activist who played a significant role in the development of Argentine literature, not only through his own writings but also through his organizational efforts...
. She also openly speaks her views, which enrages her father. One day, during confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
, she meets a Jesuit priest, Father Ladislao Gutiérrez (Imanol Arias
Imanol Arias
Imanol Arias born Manuel María Arias Domínguez , is a Spanish actor and one off film director.Imanol Arias began his career with a travelling theatre group in Spain performing in the Basque Country of northern Spain. He debuted on TV in 1976 and his first film was in "Cecilia " of 'Humberto Solas'...
). Camila immediately develops a crush on him, but after hearing Fr. Ladislao denounce the regime's death squads from the pulpit, she falls deeply in love. Fr. Ladislao first attempts to beat his feelings for Camila out with a whip, but finally surrenders to her advances. They begin a clandestine affair.
They escape the family hacienda
Hacienda
Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...
and elope to Corrientes Province
Corrientes Province
Corrientes is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by : Paraguay, the province of Misiones, Brazil, Uruguay, and the provinces of Entre Rios, Santa Fe and Chaco.-History:...
, where Fr. Ladislao poses as a school teacher. While Camila is ecstatic with happiness, Ladislao is torn between his love for Camila and a deep longing for the abandoned duties of his priesthood. They are identified, however, during an Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
celebration by Father Gannon, a priest who knows them both. The village commandant informs Camila that he will not arrest her until morning and advises her and Ladislao to cross into Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. However, Fr. Gannon's words about how, "God does not forget his chosen," have brought Fr. Ladislao's troubled conscience to a crisis. He runs to the village church and screams at the eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
, demanding to know why God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
cannot leave him in peace. However, he decides that he must return to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and do penance before his Bishop. The resulting delay prevents him and Camila from escaping and leaves the commandant with little choice other than to arrest them.
Meanwhile, Camila's father, Adolfo O'Gorman, is enraged by how the family name has been dragged through the mud by Camila's actions. Despite the pleas of Ignacio and the rest of the family, he writes to President Rosas and demands the death penalty for his daughter. With both the Church Hierarchy and his political allies demanding blood and his exiled opponents using the scandal to mock his rule, the President orders Camila and Fr. Ladislao to be shot without trial.
In a military prison, Camila and Fr. Ladislao are forbidden to see each other. While imprisoned, Camila learns that she is carrying Fr. Ladislao's child. Despite the fact that the Law of Argentina
Law of Argentina
The Legal system of Argentina is a Civil law legal system. The two pillars of the Civil system are the Constitution of Argentina and the Civil Code of Argentina ....
forbids the execution of pregnant women, Rosas refuses to delay or commute Camila's sentence. Before they are confronted by a firing squad, the prison chaplain gives Camila holy water
Holy water
Holy water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...
to drink and thus baptizes
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
her unborn child. Fr. Ladislao sends her a final letter affirming his love for her and saying that, because they could not be together on earth, they will be reunited in heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
before the throne of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
.
Although the firing squad guns down Fr. Ladislao without a second thought, they initially refuse to kill a woman. When their Captain threatens to kill them if they refuse, they open fire and shoot Camila in the stomach. Their bodies are then dumped into the same coffin. The couple's final words are told once more in voiceover
VoiceOver
VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
. "Ladislao, are you there?" "Close to you, Camila."