Eréndira (1983)

While Erendira, a beautiful teenage girl, has a surreal mystical vision, her grandmother's house catches on fire and burns to the ground. Her grandmother holds Erendira responsible and, in ... See full summary »

Director:

Ruy Guerra

Writers:

Gabriel García Márquez (novel), Gabriel García Márquez (screenplay)

Stars:

Irene Papas, Claudia Ohana, Michael Lonsdale

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Irene Papas	...	Grandmother Amadis
Claudia Ohana	...	Erendira
Michael Lonsdale	...	Senator Onésimo Sanchez
Oliver Wehe	...	Ulysses
Rufus	...	Photographer
Blanca Guerra	...	Ulysses' mother
Ernesto Gómez Cruz	...	Grocer
Pierre Vaneck	...	Ulysses' father
Carlos Cardán	...	Smuggler
Humberto Elizondo	...	Blacaman
Jorge Fegán	...	Army commander
Francisco Mauri	...	Postman
Sergio Calderón	...	Truck driver
Martín Palomares	...	Escort
Salvador Garcini	...	Puppet-player

Storyline

While Erendira, a beautiful teenage girl, has a surreal mystical vision, her grandmother's house catches on fire and burns to the ground. Her grandmother holds Erendira responsible and, in order to extract restitution from the girl, forces her into prostitution. Erendira's surreal mystical experiences continue while her grandmother grows rich from exploiting her.

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Plot Keywords:

house | prostitution | fire | grandmother's house | female protagonist | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

France Mexico West Germany

Language:

Portuguese Spanish

Release Date:

1 June 1984 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Erendira

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Triangle, Films A2, Ciné Qua Non

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on the story "La increíble y triste historia de la cándida Eréndira y su abuela desalmada" ("The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Eréndira and Her Heartless Grandmother"), by Nobel Prize-winning Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez.

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Quotes

Erendira: There was enough poison to kill a million rats.

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Connections

Referenced in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

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Soundtracks

"La chanson de Margaret"
By Pierre Dumarchais and V. Marceau
Éditions Enoch

User Reviews

Beautiful and overlooked work of Latin cinema.

"Erendira" is a film from Mexico that is rarely talked about. The film only exists in a low quality VHS format. It's a shame this film hasn't been given a DVD release. "Erendira" is stunning and gorgeous with its magic-realist images. "Erendira" is based on a short story from the novel "100 Years of Solitude". Erendira is constantly daydreaming and accidentally burns down her grandma's house. Her evil grandma, played by Irene Papas, forces her into prostitution to pay for the damages. The whole town gets a piece of Erendira, so to speak. Although the subject matter sounds harsh, the film doesn't exploit sexuality. It's done in a mature artistic manner. The film also has some amazing costumes. Some of the more surreal aspects of the film that stand out the most, are the origami birds that morph into real birds, and a golden orange with a diamond in the center. Erendira is an amazing film, that even manages to throw in humor. This is definitely a film that deserves a special DVD release. As they'd say in espanol, "Es muy muy bien !!! Excellente!