Product Details

• Actors: Magaly Solier, Yiliana Chong, Carlos J. de la Torre, Juan Ubaldo Huamán
• Directors: Claudia Llosa
• Producers: Madeinusa
• Format: Import, PAL, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Cameo Media
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000KKRJPO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #419,444 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Spain released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: Spanish ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Cast/Crew Interview(s), Interactive Menu, Making Of, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: A young woman of privilege and a man of no social status meet as a small town prepares to wallow in forbidden pleasure in this satiric drama, the first feature film from writer and director Claudia Llosa. Madeinusa (Magaly Solier) is a young woman whose father, Cayo (Ubaldo Huaman), is the mayor of a small town in the Peruvian Andes. Madeinusa is bright and attractive, but this has caused her more than a few problems; her father clearly favors her over her sister, Chale (Yiliana Chong), and since their mother ran away, Cayo has displayed an inappropriate attraction to Madeinusa. While the town strives to accept modern ways, they still embrace a strange custom that began many years ago -- on Good Friday, after acknowledging the crucifixion of Christ, the townspeople engage in a festival of decadence, with any and all sins permitted following the Savior's death until He rises again on Easter Sunday. As the Holy Day festival of Sin is about to start, Madeinusa happens to meet Salvador (Carlos De La Torre), a vagrant laborer who was passing through town when Cayo's men arrested him. For Madeinusa and Salvador, it's love at first sight, but the bizarre backdrop of the festival of sin makes it difficult for them to get to know one another. Madeinusa received its North American premiere at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Sundance Film Festival, ...Madeinusa

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The awesome debut of the 2009 Golden Bear Winner !!!, February 16, 2009

By 

Walther R. Guerrero "Bala" (Dorcester, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Madeinusa (DVD)

Madeinusa is the name of the protagonist of the film (Magaly Solier), a girl who lives in the middle of nowhere in Perú. Manayaycuna is her town, and poverty, the simple life of the poor, the alcoholic father, the mean sister and her animals is pretty much all what she knows.
Easter is coming and the town will celebrate it on their own way. It is not Easter but "Holy Time" over there, everyone is excited and so is Madeinusa; everyone but the young guy from Lima that got stuck there on his way to a mining camp, and has no option but to spend a few days in Manayaycuna ... with Madeinusa. Just during the time when Christ is dead ... hence, he cannot see us!

Madeinusa pictures a tale where the Christian religion got blended with- and swallowed by- andean traditions, creating their own myths and traditions like the "Holy Time" (which indeed, is just a creation of the Director Claudia Llosa, for such thing as Holy Time doesn't actually exist in the Peruvian Andes). Madeinusa will then, take you for a crazy travel for the gorgeous Peruvian Andes, through the eyes of a Lima photographer, meeting an awesome village girl inside a gorgeous but perhaps insane town, with a bunch of well pictured characters that are not that easy to understand.

But don't worry. Madeinusa is NOT a silly Andean version of Cinderella ... not at all. Madeinusa is a masterpiece of art, displaying the magic of the Peruvian Andes, the beautiness of simple people and the evil spirit of human being. Don't expect a romantic tale, don't expect a Perú's documentary. Just seat and enjoy the debut of the current Golden Bear holder and the performance of an actress, who a couple of months before the film, was actually a village girl, discovered by the Director while she was selling potatoes and other food stuff at her town ... a place perhaps not so different to Manayaycuna.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A surprising effort, March 7, 2009

By 

George W. Lynn - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Madeinusa (DVD)

A fairly macabre story that would be something more at home on the Twilight Zone or in a painting by Brueghel. A Spanish stranger from Lima wanders into an Indian village during the Holy Time, the period of time between Good Friday and Easter, when by village tradition God is dead and cannot see the sins on the villagers. They don't want him there, he's a foreigner to them, and they don't want him to witness their actions during this special time. The local mayor locks him up to protect him, but he breaks out and wanders into a world he didn't know existed and can't begin to understand, even if parts of it look familiar. Madeinusa is the name of the young woman on the cover, chosen by her father the mayor to play the role of Mary during Holy Time. She dreams of escape into the modern world of Lima, away from her brutal father who has been waiting for Holy Time for his own perverted reasons. It's a fascinating decent into Hell and takes a number of interesting twists and turns. The actors are all strong in their roles and make film all too real. The cinematography is particluarly beautiful with the Andes in the background. Well worth seeing and a very unique effort.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishing, December 14, 2009

By 

Rufus Quail - See all my reviews

This review is from: Madeinusa (DVD)

Madeinusa is a 14-year-old girl who lives with her father and sister in a stone dwelling with a dirt floor. It's more substantial than a hut but too primitive to be called a house. There is no electricity. The kitchen faucet emits just a trickle of water.

The family live in a remote village in the mountains of Peru. The nearest telephone is miles away. "Made" and her sister take turns spreading rat poison around the perimeter of the dwelling. Dead rats bring good luck. In just a few hours Made's father will have one of his fondest wishes realized. He'll have sex with his daughter. Made sings sad songs.

The movie opens with the start of the Easter festival. The village's dozen or so young virgins, lavishly costumed, go on parade. Made is selected as the year's most beautiful. We learn that Made's dad is the town's mayor, a man highly esteemed in the region. The selection of his daughter makes his upcoming conquest all the more exciting!

This festival has a twist. The villagers have made it a tradition that God is dead from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. He can't see their transgressions. Sin does not exist. A man can have sex with his daughter and it won't matter. Made has known for a long time that this day would come. Incest is a natural part of life, something the village daughters stoically accept. Anyone suggesting there's something wrong with the arrangement might be stoned by these primitives. It's a fate that could be in store for any outsider who stumbles upon the warped festival.

The film takes a detached view of the bizarre happenings. The wild party, called Holy Time, includes many beautifully-photographed scenes of pageantry and debauchery (although there are no graphic depictions of sex). There's no attempt to manipulate the viewer's emotions, no effort to demonize or glorify any character.

Made has the honor of kicking off Holy Time. In a solemn ceremony, the crucified Jesus is taken down from his perch and blindfolded. This Jesus is a comical mannequin, with moveable arms and eyes. Made kisses him reverently on the mouth.

Although the villagers are free to do as they please, no one seems to have much fun. They act as if the festival is a religious observance in which they must dutifully participate. The merriment is robotic, not joyful.

The movie is packed with astonishing imagery. The musical score is hauntingly beautiful. Made's songs are incredibly touching. It's one of the most moving and amazing movies I have seen. It's Claudia Llosa's first film. Topping it will be a formidable challenge.