Customer Reviews

Dona Herlinda and Her Son

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I lived in Guadalajara--in fact I came out in Guadalajara. Mexico oozes sexuality from its every pore and yet the sexual restrictions in the country are tremendous and probably contribute to the enormous amount of homosexuality that exists. A single man, especially a professional, will not succeed in Mexico unless he is married and that creates the enormous "bisexual" population which is really gay men married to "tapar el ojo al macho." It is foreign to the American experience; two men living together is still groundbreaking in Mexico. This movie captures every gay Mexican male's fantasy: a mother who not only accepts her son's gayness but moves the earth and a bit of heaven too so that her son can be properly married and have his lover at hand. It is sly and cunning and it is delicious. If you know Mexico you know how subversive this film was. And it continues to be. It is not a relic--homosexual habits change slowly in Mexico. And Dona Herlinda does not "ignore" her son making out with his lover in the garden when she brings them lemonade. He is doing exactly what she expects him to be doing and her blithe offer of lemonade as though they were reading books is bitingly hilarious. You do not have to live in Mexico to appreciate the almost black humor of this film which was made in the 80's when WE in the US were still watching Sly and Ahnuld collect sweat on their pecs. Imagine a land where homosexual behavior can be so repressed and then a film like this comes along and sticks its finger in society's eye. Spectacular in concept and execution.

This strange and unconventional film is refreshing in its honesty. It is the story of a controlling mother who makes life happy for everyone by moving in her gay son's lover to live with them yet also arranging a heterosexual marriage for him so that she can have grandchildren! The refreshing aspect of the film is that the situations are presented naturally and without pretext. Even the gay sex scenes are playfully done (although not explicit), something you would rarely see in an American film. It is a funny and entertaining film, well acted and directed, and an interesting depiction of South American culture and home life.

Now for the bad news - the dvd is poorly presented. It's obvious that no digital enhancement was done. It resembles an old tv episode with dark shadows, bleeding colors and the picture is extremely soft. It is shown in full screen format (it was probably filmed that way, although I can't be sure). But worst of all, the sub-titles are atrocious! They appear only as the characters are speaking and, as the Spanish language is spoken fast, there are many instances when the text appears so ridiculously quick that you don't have time to read it!

Anyone who has any familarity with Mexican culture will immediately identify with this movie. The son who does his mother's bidding no matter what. The young woman who marries to escape the constrictions of the family. The closeted nature of gay life in Mexico. The mother who works to make sure her son is happy as well as presents the proper appearance in society. Someone from the United States might wonder what all the fuss is about. But the movie touches on the Mexican world view and gay people in a compassionate manner for the time. A good training manual for any gringo who decides to involve himself with a Mexican male.

The incredibly poor and careless copying of this charming movie to DVD by Vanguard Cinema prompts me to suggest that ANY video version, even an old and faded one, is preferable. The DVD's color quality is mediocre and looks like a second or third generation video dubbing to DVD, but it is not. I know this because you can even see the film reel run out at the end following the titles. This is hardly a surprise considering everything else about this DVD! There are glitches and jumps in the picture throughout. There are dropouts and clicks in the sound throughout. And the subtitles -- the new subtitles in English (unremovable, I might add) were typed by someone totally unfamiliar with English punctuation, who never heard of an apostrophe and is doubtful about the use of question marks, commas, exclamation points, etc. The DVD version is an insult to everyone involved in the making of this 1985 Mexican comedy about a conniving mother's plans to keep her gay son happy by first, moving his lover into their home, and second, promoting a marriage for her son so that she may have grandchildren. It takes the idea of "extended family" to a new dimension. The characters (and actors who portray them) are all very attractive and likeable. To me, the one thing lacking is that the filmmaker (or writer) never deals with the bride's awareness or lack of awareness to the situation into which she marries. And she's not a stupid woman. She's a clear-headed feminist who works to promote Amnesty International, yet seems strangely dense when it comes to her married life, other than to note (to her husband's male lover) that her husband is "a male chauvinist".

Made in 1985 on a very limited budget, Doña Herlinda and Her Son (Doña Herlinda y su hijo) the 1985 film from writer/director Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, is a spot-on funny satire about marriage and relationships both gay and straight. While watching this movie, I was astounded by the frankness at the way gay relationships are depicted in this film, particularly in a Latin American country that is known for its heavy religious conservatism.

To date, I can think of no English language film made in the United States or Great Britain that portrays intimacy between two men in the way that Dona Herlinda and Her Son does. The film is not only a warm gay romantic comedy, but it also shows how relationships of all types can be accommodated and that the most important attribute of family is that everyone just be happy.

This is also a film that depicts gay relationships very positively and the two men are remarkably well adjusted. They also bring a sexy, but ordinary earthiness to their roles, and are totally convincing in their love and sexual attraction to one another.

The film is set in the city of Guadalajara and revolves around the wealthy widow Doña Herlinda (played with appealing warmth and slyness by Guadalupe Del Toro). Dona Herlinda - complete with fiery short red hair and matching muumuus - unadulteratingly dotes on her somewhat spoiled physician son Rodolfo (a very sexy Marco Antonio Trevino). Rodolfo is romantically involved with the young music student Ramón (Arturo Meza), but they are having problems finding privacy - they are constantly interrupted at Ramón's hostel. When Dona Herlinda asks Ramon to stay with her and her son, the sexual sparks really fly; it doesn't help that Rodolfo is required to take on a wife while still wanting to keep his young male lover.

Dona Herlinda uses all the resources at her disposal to protect her son and Ramón, to keep them both happy, and to have the marriage that she so desperately wants for her son. How she does this is the secret, and real message of the movie. There are many surprises in store for the viewer, as Dona Herlinda effortlessly weaves her way through life, with her bright, positive smile, bringing the greatest possible happiness to the greatest number of people, including herself.

The strength of the film is not only Del Toro's captivating performance, but also the performances of the two male leads. There's a sweet innocence and a deep connection to Rodolfo and Ramón's relationship - it's at once sexy, but there is also great love, and it is this love which anchors the film. The viewer really believes Ramon's pain and loss, when he realizes that the hesitant Rodolfo is going to marry Olga (in an astute performance by Letícia Lupercio). And the scenes when Rodolfo and Ramon's are playfully kissing in Rodolfo's childhood bedroom are light-heartedly touching.

The film also says a lot about Mexican society, where Rodolfo, although wealthy, has to bow to middle class conformity by marrying a woman, even though his heart is with a man. Rodolfo, Ramon and their Mother must figure out ways to navigate the traditional social climate and cope with their situation. From the outset, it's made clear that Dona Herlinda has no problem with her son being gay. The movie does an excellent job of highlighting the colorful, sunlit Guadalajara, with its mariachi bands and spacious, Spanish-style homes. And although the film looks dated - with the eighties haircuts and the tight, form fitting bell-bottom pants - it is still lots of fun to watch. Mike Leonard January 05.

This is one of my favorite gay love stories, mainly because it was filmed in my hometown back in a time when mainstream movies with gay themes didn't exist in the land of the macho mariachis. This movie makes up its lack of Hollywood finesse by showing a tender and romantic side in the love between two men. The story makes a lot more sense if you're fluent in the spanish language. Kudos to Mr Jorge Humberto Hermosillo for creating this precious jewel of a movie! The only drawback is the editing, which at times seems a little choppy.

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.

A VERY INTERESTING DVD WITH AN UNUSUAL THEME THAT WAS HANADLED VERY WELL WITHOUT CREATING ANYTHING OFFENSIVE. A VERY HUMAN STORY.

When is Amazon going to update the title to "Dona" instead of "Doqa"?

The movie on lazer disc is fun while the acting may at times be a little stilted, especially the actress playing Dona Herlinda. I haven't seen the DVD version and probably won't buy it until my lazer disc player dies. Perhaps by then the DVD version will be cleaned up.

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.