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Actors: Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, Stuart Wilson
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Death and the Maiden |
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In an unnamed Latin American country that has recently thrown off the yoke of military dictatorship, famed attorney and former activist Gerardo Escobar (Stuart Wilson) is returning home from a meeting with the President when he suffers a flat tire on a secluded road in the middle of a storm.
Returning home with the aid of a passing motorist, the pleasant-seeming Dr. Roberto Miranda (Ben Kingsley), Gerardo infuriates his wife Paulina (Sigourney Weaver) by informing her that he has accepted a presidential appointment to head a commission investigating human rights abuses under the old regime.
A former victim of state-sponsored "interrogation" herself, Paulina is furious at what she sees as his complicity in a coverup of the truth. But her anger turns to white hot fury when Dr. Miranda arrives to return Gerardo's flat tire -- and Paulina believes she hears a voice from her dark past.
Stealing Dr. Miranda's car, taking it to a deserted stretch of road, and searching it thoroughly, Paulina finds evidence that seems to confirm her suspicions.
Returning to her home, she ties Dr. Miranda to a chair, gags him, and threatens both him and her husband with a gun. For she believes that he is not the kindly physician he seems, but rather he is the unseen sadist who, 15 years before, put her through unspeakable torture and sexual brutality, all to the tune of Schubert's "Death and the Maiden."
Is Dr. Miranda a beast in disguise? Or has Paulina finally gone over the edge? Nothing is certain as Gerardo attempts to prevent his love from exacting her vengeance, even as he struggles to learn the truth.
--James Craver, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Death and the Maiden |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Inner struggle or disability
Yes
Struggle with
- anger/anguish over rape
Taboo Sex Story?
Yes
Kind of sex:
- rape
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- homemaker/wife
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (woman) short/butch/lez
Body type
- (woman) skinny
Unclothed?
- Chest
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Hispanic/Latinic
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard wavey
Body type
- (man) average build
How much in movie?
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Hispanic/Latinic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- doctor
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 90%-100%
Hair color
- bald
Hair type
- (man) bald
Body type
- (man) average
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Hispanic/Latinic
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Setting
The Americas (not US):
Yes
The Americas:
- Central
Water?
Yes
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to torture
Movie makes you feel...
- all mixed up
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- actual description of sex
- seeing breasts
Any profanity?
- Some foul language
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Orchestra/classical
Is this movie based on a
- play
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Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 James Craver
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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