Vicky Funari tells
real tales about women
real tales about women
Paulina is Vicky Funari's first big film project and it took ten years to finish. The moving and shocking film tells about Paulina, a Mexican woman, whose parents substitute landed property for her and she ends up as the village leader's mistress against her will. In the film documentary and fiction fuse. "I think that the genre divisions are artificial. Sometimes fiction can be more realistic than a documentary and a documentary can be superficial", reasons Funari.
The film itself requires mixing of genres. The fictive scenes picture different viewpoints on Paulina's tragedy.
"When an idea fascinates me, I try to create the best possible depiction of it and follow my vision. Sometimes that requires crossing over the genre devisions."
This has resulted in problems too: the film has been difficult to market.
Virgin, mother, whore
Paulina's story is like a story of any Mexican mother, grandmother, or aunt. The immense power of the leader of the village comes from the history: with the leader's position came also his right to have any woman he wanted and as many women he ever wanted. There was nothing exceptional in a 40-year-old man having a 15-year-old girl as his mistress.
"The worst thing is that this could happen anywhere. Right now, somewhere, there is a girl, living through what Paulina has lived through", says Funnari.
Translation: Piia Holopainen and Pia Valtanen
© pomot 1998, tivema 1997