(3 of 3)
Years ago, García Márquez wrote an early version of the Erendira script; later the story served as an anecdote in One Hundred Years of Solitude. Now it serves as Third World political metaphor: the old woman is a conquistador who exploits the native beauty and animal passions of the new land; Erendira is like a developing country, silently fighting her way out of debt and domination. As directed by Ruy Guerra, this made-in-Mexico movie is often careless about building tension within the frame or climaxes within the story. But it captures enough of García Márquez's surreal humor to make for an entertaining fable with the aftertaste of narrative anarchy. Claudia Ghana, a dusky young stunner with a feral strength about her, is an ideal Erendira. And Irene Papas, her eyes ablaze with deranged hauteur, gives a hilarious, all-stops-out performance as Grandma. Through these two attractive opposites, García Márquez's demons leap off the screen and into the moviegoer's own unshakable dreams. —R.C.