This is a movie about a girl with a potato in her vagina. Anyone that can make a movie about a girl with a potato in her vagina and not resort to the inevitable “spud snatch,” “tuber cooter,” “tater twat” jokes is a genius. And a lot more mature than me.
The genius in question is Claudia Llosa, a Peruvian writer/director who has crafted a non-mainstream masterpiece that is a breath of fresh air. Okay maybe not-so-fresh. But it was enlightening. And judging by its awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, 24 Festival Internacional de Cine de Guadalajara in Mexico and Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, the critics agree.
The movie takes place in Lima, Peru and opens with a dying mother singing a breathtakingly beautiful song to her young daughter Fausta (Magaly Solier). In its melodious verses, we hear of the devastatingly brutal atrocities committed against Peruvian villagers during the time of the conflict between maoist “Shining Path” guerillas and the Peruvian military (1980-1992). The “milk of sorrow” legend is that daughters of these raped and tortured women are transferred their mother’s sorrows through breast milk and are thus destined for the same atrocities to befall them.
The reason for Fausta’s potato is quickly explained as a deterrent for rape, used successfully by one of her mother’s friends during the troubles. Fausta, though now residing with her uncle’s family in Lima, with time and space between her mother’s violation, is determined the potato will help her to avoid the same fate.
After Fausta’s mother dies, her goal is to transport her mother’s body back to the country to be buried. Unfortunately, she has no money for this journey. Her uncle, having spent all his soles on his daughter’s upcoming wedding, is in no position to help out. An aunt tells Fausta of a maid job for a wealthy woman in the capital and she takes it, hoping to earn enough money for the trip before her uncle gets sick of her mother’s body (which is embalmed and wrapped in blankets at his house).
Throughout the course of her employment, we see the distinct differences of life for separate classes in Peru. From the indigenous mother in the countryside, to the uncle in the poorer outskirts of Lima, to the wealthy señora in a mansion in the capital. Physically she is tall and blond, in contrast to the slumped, quiet, fear-filled Fausta.
Cinematically, every shot in this movie was interesting, beautiful. The introduction of each character (from a power-drill-wielding señora to a wedding veil-obsessed daughter) was amazing. The scenery, delightful, poetic and symbolic. The subject matter was indeed interesting. For all these reasons, I highly recommend this film. But I wouldn’t recommend putting a potato in your vagina. Even if you’re stuck in the country. I’m sure at home pepper-spray is just as easy to make, and probably a lot less invasive.
