Miss Mary (1986)

A young British woman is hired as a governess by a wealthy Argentine family. Through her position, she slowly sees how the upper class of society is slowly crumbling, and how a fascist ... See full summary »

Director:

María Luisa Bemberg

Writers:

María Luisa Bemberg, Beda Docampo Feijóo,

Stars:

Julie Christie, Nacha Guevara, Eduardo Pavlovsky

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julie Christie	...	Mary Mulligan
Nacha Guevara	...	Mecha
Eduardo Pavlovsky	...	Alfredo
Gerardo Romano	...	Ernesto
Iris Marga	...	Mama Victoria
Guillermo Battaglia	...	Grandfather
Barbara Bunge	...	Teresa (child)
Donald McIntyre	...	Johnny (as Donald McIntire)
Sofía Viruboff	...	Carolina
Luisina Brando	...	Perla
Alberto Busaid
Georgina Parpagnoli
Richardo Hanglin
Carlos Pamplona
Nora Zinsky	...	Teresa (adult)

Storyline

A young British woman is hired as a governess by a wealthy Argentine family. Through her position, she slowly sees how the upper class of society is slowly crumbling, and how a fascist movement is preparing to install itself in power.

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Plot Keywords:

governess | fascist | flashback | argentina | title directed by female | 

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Taglines:

The film that will touch you in some very secret places.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Argentina USA

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

19 December 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Miss Maggie

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Box Office

Gross:

$267,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gea Cinematografica, New World Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby"
Composed by Dorothy Fields (as Fields) and Jimmy McHugh (as McHugh)
Performed by Benny Goodman
Authorized by RCA Ariola Int., N.Y.

User Reviews

Bad editing ruined a fine picture

Miss Mary was meant to be an excellent motion picture. It is well written, with intelligent dialogue, the color photography is stunning. The cast was well chosen and includes some of the best Argentine players, who brilliantly support the wonderful work of Julie Christie. Maria Luisa Bemberg has shown her directorial talent before.

But... this picture in completely incoherent. The editor makes the action go back and forth, inserting flashbacks that could have been more comprehensible if shown in the natural order. Miss Mary is a movie with no sense of time. We never know if the sequence we are watching happens in 1938, in 1945, or in between. We never know when the action goes from the "estancia" to Buenos Aires. It has been a loss for the art of the cinema, that modern editors have forgotten the classic grammar of the great directors of the past, such as the fading ins and fading outs that indicated the pass of time, and now limit themselves to cut and cut and cut. The sense of continuity and the sense of time have been lost. And Miss Mary is a sorry example of what has happened to movie editing since the 70's.