La monja alférez (1944)
A 17th century woman, imprisoned for fighting in a bar, recounts her past to a priest. She tells of her father teaching her how to fence, of being sent to a convent by her aunt when her father died, of escaping by dressing as a man, and of her life as a man following the escape.
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Memorable, crazy movie
Just perfect...
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
Shot the way opera used to be directed - the actors stand and deliver in articulate and gorgeous Spanish. Felix is radiantly beautiful, at least as much as Hedy Lamarr. The photography is b/w with many a shadow and lots of good tonal variation. And if the thespian style is a bit on the raised eyebrow school, that's okay, for it's just so beautiful to hear and look at (which is good - for there are no subtitles on our version). Of course she no more resembles a young man than I do Marilyn Monroe, but that's another operatic convention easily accepted. The minor roles are amusing and well smirked. All in all, an enjoyable costume drama set in colonial Peru, with duels, convents, disguises, flights, flashbacks, and plenty to show off Mexico's leading lady.