Antonieta
Encyclopedia
Antonieta is a 1982 film by Spanish director Carlos Saura
, starring Isabelle Adjani
and Hanna Schygulla
. The film, a Mexican-Spanish French co production, was based on a novel by Andrés Henestrosa
. The plot centers on the life of Antonieta Rivas Mercado
, a Mexican
writer who killed herself inside Paris' Notre Dame
in 1931.
Antonieta's personal life was as dark and dramatic as that of her era. She was a daughter of a famous architect and as a child she posed for the golden angel atop the famous column of Independence in Mexico City.
Vargas, a poet, now a middle-aged man, recounts for Ana the life of Antonieta when he met her and they were friends. The story moves back and forth between present and past.
As a young woman, Antonieta married but left her husband and fell madly in love with the painter Manuel Rodríguez Lozano. The painter was married and Antonieta's feelings remained unrequited because Manuel was homosexual. Their Platonic relationship lasted for several years during which she wrote him many lover letters, later published in a book.
Leon, a Mexican historian, further illustrates Antonieta's life for Anna. Still in love with the painter, Antonieta meets José Vasconcelos
, a Mexican intellectual who is running for president of the country on the platform of offering education to the masses. Antonieta, is drawn into the idealist politician, becoming Vasconcelos’ lover and prime advisory.
After Vasconcelos is politically defeated, she accompanies him in exile to Paris. They have lost their political idealism. She begs him to tell her if he still needs her. He replies that, really no one needs anyone, only God. Antonieta committees her last dramatic act, by pressing a pistol to her heart in the pews of Notre Dame.
Carlos Saura
Carlos Saura Atarés is a Spanish film director and photographer.-Early life:Born into a family of artists , he developed his artistic sense in childhood as a photography enthusiast.He obtained his directing diploma in Madrid in 1957 at the Institute of Cinema Research and Studies...
, starring Isabelle Adjani
Isabelle Adjani
Isabelle Yasmine Adjani is a French film actress and singer. Adjani has appeared in 30 films since 1970. She holds the record for most César Awards for Best Actress with five, for Possession , One Deadly Summer , Camille Claudel , Queen Margot and Skirt Day...
and Hanna Schygulla
Hanna Schygulla
Hanna Schygulla is a German actress and chanson singer. She is generally considered the most prominent German actress of the New German Cinema.-Life and career:Schygulla was born in Königshütte, Upper Silesia,...
. The film, a Mexican-Spanish French co production, was based on a novel by Andrés Henestrosa
Andrés Henestrosa
Andrés Henestrosa Morales was a Mexican writer and politician. In addition to his prose and poetry, Henestrosa was elected to the federal legislature, serving three terms in the Chamber of Deputies, and as a senator for the state of Oaxaca from 1982 to 1988...
. The plot centers on the life of Antonieta Rivas Mercado
Antonieta Rivas Mercado
María Antonieta Rivas Mercado Castellanos was a Mexican intellectual, writer, feminist and arts patron.- Biography :...
, a Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
writer who killed herself inside Paris' Notre Dame
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris , also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra of...
in 1931.
Plot
Anna, a modern day Parisian psychologist, is researching the cases of women who committed suicide in the 20th Century. She becomes fascinated by the story of Antonieta Rivas Mercado, a Mexican writer and social activist who committed suicide inside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. To find more about Antonieta's story, Anna travels to Mexico and interviews people who knew her. She receives her first clues about Antonieta's life from Juana, a Mexican librarian who frames the live of Antonieta Rivas Mercado within a stormy period of Mexico's history, the political turmoil of the 1910s-1920s.Antonieta's personal life was as dark and dramatic as that of her era. She was a daughter of a famous architect and as a child she posed for the golden angel atop the famous column of Independence in Mexico City.
Vargas, a poet, now a middle-aged man, recounts for Ana the life of Antonieta when he met her and they were friends. The story moves back and forth between present and past.
As a young woman, Antonieta married but left her husband and fell madly in love with the painter Manuel Rodríguez Lozano. The painter was married and Antonieta's feelings remained unrequited because Manuel was homosexual. Their Platonic relationship lasted for several years during which she wrote him many lover letters, later published in a book.
Leon, a Mexican historian, further illustrates Antonieta's life for Anna. Still in love with the painter, Antonieta meets José Vasconcelos
José Vasconcelos
José Vasconcelos Calderón was a Mexican writer, philosopher and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial personalities in the development of modern Mexico. His philosophy of "indigenismo" affected all aspects of Mexican sociocultural, political, and economic...
, a Mexican intellectual who is running for president of the country on the platform of offering education to the masses. Antonieta, is drawn into the idealist politician, becoming Vasconcelos’ lover and prime advisory.
After Vasconcelos is politically defeated, she accompanies him in exile to Paris. They have lost their political idealism. She begs him to tell her if he still needs her. He replies that, really no one needs anyone, only God. Antonieta committees her last dramatic act, by pressing a pistol to her heart in the pews of Notre Dame.
Cast
- Isabelle AdjaniIsabelle AdjaniIsabelle Yasmine Adjani is a French film actress and singer. Adjani has appeared in 30 films since 1970. She holds the record for most César Awards for Best Actress with five, for Possession , One Deadly Summer , Camille Claudel , Queen Margot and Skirt Day...
- Antonieta Rivas MercadoAntonieta Rivas MercadoMaría Antonieta Rivas Mercado Castellanos was a Mexican intellectual, writer, feminist and arts patron.- Biography :... - Hanna SchygullaHanna SchygullaHanna Schygulla is a German actress and chanson singer. She is generally considered the most prominent German actress of the New German Cinema.-Life and career:Schygulla was born in Königshütte, Upper Silesia,...
- Anna - Ignacio López TarsoIgnacio López TarsoIgnacio López Tarso is a Mexican actor of stage, film and television. He is considered as one of the country's finest actors.-Early life:...
- Vargas - Carlos Bracho - José VasconcelosJosé VasconcelosJosé Vasconcelos Calderón was a Mexican writer, philosopher and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial personalities in the development of modern Mexico. His philosophy of "indigenismo" affected all aspects of Mexican sociocultural, political, and economic...
- Gonzalo Vega - Manuel Rodríguez LozanoManuel Rodríguez LozanoManuel Rodríguez Lozano was a Mexican painter.- Biography :Rodríguez Lozano was born to Manuel Rodríguez and his wife Sara Lozano. He began a military education at the Heroico Colegio Militar, and started a diplomatic service career...
- Hector Alterio - León
- Diana BrachoDiana BrachoDiana Bracho is a Mexican film, television and stage actress.-Early life:Diana Bracho is the daughter of actor/director Julio Bracho, the niece of actress Andrea Palma and the mother of actor Julio Bracho . She married Dr. Felipe Bracho, a university professor. They have a daughter, Andrea...
- Juana