Oriana

Meagan Vazquetelles

Hunter College

SPAN 26900

Prof. Monica Schinaider

        Recently I had the opportunity to view an intriguingly beautiful yet enigmatic film from the country of Venezuela. This film – Oriana, co-written by Josefina Torres Beneditti (also known as Fina Torres) and Antoine Lacomblez and directed by Fina Torres – was released in 1985. During my third viewing of the film I began sensing that there were several important themes being “woven” around a central theme. Along with the usual themes of love, anger, angst, and murder I find the following themes: forbidden passion – brother and sister; domestic violence – father murders son, father imprisons daughter, maid poisons the father; coming of age – Oriana going against her father’s will; defying social norms – Oriana taking the lead in her interaction with Sergio (i.e. asking him to dance with her, standing up to dance before Sergio rises from his sitting position, and leading him on the dance floor). These themes form the “moving components” which give rise to the central theme of “there are ‘dirty’ family secrets hidden here.” As these components give rise to the dirty secret theme there is a parallel theme at work in the film – change. This theme is represented by the elements of Maria whom I’ve chosen as my subject.

        Many years after her preadolescence and only visit to her aunt’s home in a remote and rural region of Venezuela, Maria hears that her aunt Oriana has passed away. She also learns that she has been bequeathed her aunt’s estate (“hacienda”). Upon arriving to her home country and seeing that the hacienda has been in decaying conditions due to years of negligence, Maria shows no interest in the estate when she responds with “it doesn’t matter” to Sanchez’s (Oriana’s ex-servant) apology for not having been able to make the place to look more presentable as it once was. Her sole interest, along with her French husband’s, for the property is hopefully getting “300,000 bolivares” from a prospective buyer. However, it seems to this writer that Sanchez’s words as he departs from the presence of Maria and her husband George marks the beginning of a paradigm shift for her. Roaming through the mansion and remembering the time she spent there and the experiences she had, Maria begins to explore for what would explain her aunt’s reclusive existence. Maria’s journey through time and space (the house) leads her to uncovering dirty family secrets which Fidelia would preferred them to be left buried in the past. Did Oriana, who had anger issues with her machista father (depicted in her pointing a revolver towards him while he reads the newspaper) ever since she was a child, seduce her half-brother as a declaration of war against the domination by her father? Was this an act of declaration of her liberation as a woman? What impelled Fidelia in keeping the past in the past – the fact that Oriana’s father had fathered Sergio with her and that she exacted revenge after the father killed his son Sergio? Did a child became the fruit from the passion of Oriana and Sergio? And was this love child the adult person who was seen lurking around the estate?

        From my viewings of this film I find myself unable to tell whether Maria is Oriana’s sole young relative. This notion intrigues me because I am left with the question- is Maria Oriana’s intentionally chosen one? I have given this question some thought and continue arriving to a definite yes. Oriana had allowed for the estate to fall into a state of disrepair via sheer neglect. Why would she be concerned with it after her demise? Although a strong will person Oriana existed in the shadows and darkness. The writers reflect this fact via her dark clothing, the use of very muted light and the ghost like appearance of persons particularly that of an unknown person. Whereas Maria was dressed in a light-colored, wide-shouldered dress suit often referred to a power suit. She went about her home. Oriana had identified the traits that were shared by them and where they were unalike. Maria was unafraid to take some calculated risks, she held an inquiring mind and she wasn’t afraid of change. Whereas Oriana never changed which explains why she remained sequestered in her hacienda.