Oriana (1985)

Director:

Fina Torres

Writers:

Antoine Lacomblez
Fina Torres
(more)

Release Date:

8 January 1986 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

A young girl is sent to a South American hacienda, where she learns about the life of her reclusive aunt, Oriana

Plot Keywords:

Aunt | Hacienda | Girl | Love | Flashback

Awards:

8 wins

Cast

Doris Wells	...	Oriana
Daniela Silverio	...	Maria, adult
Rafael Briceño	...	Padre
Mirtha Borges	...	Fidelia
Maya Oloe	...	Maria, adolescent
Philippe Rouleau	...	Georges
Claudia Venturini	...	Oriana, adolescent
Martha Canelon	...	Madre
Luis Armando Castillo	...	Sergio
Asdrúbal Meléndez	...	Sanchez
Hanna Caminos	...	Oriana, child
Alejandro Padrón	...	Sergio, child
Leonor Contramaestre	...	Anabel, child
Valmore Gómez	...	Photographer
Blanca de Gómez	...	Teacher
Henry Páez	...	Sanchez, youth
David Ardila	...	Chauffeur

Directed by
Fina Torres

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Paul Gégauff		additional dialogue (uncredited)
Antoine Lacomblez
Catherine Philippe-Gérard		additional dialogue (uncredited)
Fina Torres

Produced by
Patrick Sandrin	....	producer
Fina Torres	....	producer

Original Music by
Eduardo Marturet

Cinematography by
Jean-Claude Larrieu

Film Editing by
Christiane Lack

Sound Department
Francisco Ramos	....	sound recordist
Pierre Tucat	....	boom operator

Thanks
Catherine Philippe-Gérard	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Arion Productions
• Pandora Films

Distributors

• Tamarelle's International Films (1989) (USA) (VHS) (Pan and scan for Larry Blair Films)
• Facets Multimedia Distribution (2006) (USA) (all media)

Other Companies

• Tamarelle's International Films  VHS package design

Also Known As:

"Oriane" - USA (video title)

Runtime:

USA:88 min

Country:

Venezuela | France

Language:

Spanish | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Arion Productions

The house of the spirits

Fina Torres' body of work has revolved around her own identity as a Venezuelan artist living and working in France, with a heavy European influence, but with a keen eye for things that are obviously very familiar to her from her native land.

Oriana is a rare film that works slowly on the viewer until he gets to know the terrible things that happened in the hacienda once owned by wealthy people, but now is in disarray.

Maria, as a woman, Oriana's niece, goes back to inspect the property, as she and her French husband want to dispose of it, the sooner, the better. But something happens to Maria, for whom the house has a magic spell as she steps into the dusty and unkempt main house of the hacienda, where once, she has spent summer vacations.

Maria, we see, has an inquisitive mind. In her mind, her aunt Oriana is an enigma. We get to know the past through the eyes of Maria, as a young girl, who is the one that discovers things that are safely hidden in her aunt's closet. This is a story seen through three generations of this family, although basically the present time bears nothing on the story, or the tragedy that we get to realize happened years ago in the hacienda. We also discover why Oriana decided to stay behind, by herself, playing her piano and living in the past by herself.

Basically, young Maria, played by Daniela Silverio, is the center of the story. As Oriana, the mysterious aunt, Doris Wells brings a dignity and a remoteness unique to the drama.

Even though the film moves at a very slow pace, it's quite enjoyable because of the director's fine tuning behind the camera.