Oriana

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Venezuelan Masterpiece
Review: A beautiful Venezuelan production that reflex an era in the Venezuelan society. Every corner of the movie involves you in a mistery that needs to be discovered, to reveal a sin at the very end. The passion and the love that only can exist in the rooms of a lost old mansion of the Venezuelan forests. I enjoyed this jewel and very seductive movie very much.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Venezuelan Masterpiece
Review: A beautiful Venezuelan production that reflex an era in the Venezuelan society. Every corner of the movie involves you in a mistery that needs to be discovered, to reveal a sin at the very end. The passion and the love that only can exist in the rooms of a lost old mansion of the Venezuelan forests. I enjoyed this jewel and very seductive movie very much.

Rating:
Summary: When worlds collide
Review: Albeit difficult to follow, due in part to the series of disjointed flashbacks and confusing images, this is a beautifully told story of pain and betrayal set in an exotic and lush tropical setting. The plot line is simple: a woman, residing in France, inherits an old hacienda from her aunt on the Venezuelan coast in the early 70's, only to discover her aunt's illicit relationship, and subsequent seclusion, with her illegitimate half brother. Venezuelan society of the 1930's and 50's was extremely hypocritical and chauvinistic, a point exceedingly well portrayed in this film. The mise-en-scène and the photography are top notch. The acting is subdued and languid, almost somnolescent in its reverie of another era. To appreciate this film, one has to have an understanding of Latin society; its intolerance for female rôles outside the established "norm;" its many unspoken, rigid rules and its complete disregard for human nature. The contrast in this film, offered by the lushness of the landscape and the dryness of the interaction within the family, is its most salient attribute.

Rating:
Summary: LA OBRA MAESTRA DEL CINE VENEZOLANO
Review: El feminismo de Fina Torres unido a la belleza de paisajes venezolanos en tiempos dificiles para el amor entre seres diferentes socialmente en una sociedad machista, donde por encima de todo prevalece el respeto infundido por años de educación, anulando los sentimientos humanos, los cuales, cuando son de buena madera prevalecen en el tiempo. Ganadora en Cannes, es algo irrepetible por mucho tiempo en Venezuela.

Rating:
Summary: a static bore full of cliches
Review: The pace of this movie is so slow it would, at times, seem to be a series of slides, with the sounds of the Venezuelan countryside as the most prominent feature in a lackluster soundtrack. The photography is beautiful, as are the lush and exotic locations. This is a story of a mature woman remembering her first love, as her niece is visiting with her. It is told in flashbacks. I really don't know if the story is confusing because of the script, or because silent scenes are so long you fall asleep in between them.