User Reviews

I think this might have made a good 30 minute short. I have not read the Steinbeck novella. I have read "East of Eden," "The Grapes of Wrath," and "Cannery Row," so I'm not ignorant of his work. Though I liked his novels an stories when I was younger, having a BA in English ,I know he is not considered a great writer on the level of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, or Faulkner. But his stories, "The Red Pony" is another, have a simplicity which make them a good tool for getting young people interested in reading. An English teacher gives examples in their review of how the 2001 film version of this same work differs from the novella. Presuming he or she is correct, this film also deviates from Steinbeck's story. In this film, Juana is presented as urging Kino to not go back down again and attempt to find an oyster with a pearl. In the story she is said to be praying for him to find one. Once he brings the oyster up and opens it, an ominous dark cloud appears above them. Trite and heavy-handed is too kind a description of sort of lazy film making. Yes it's well photographed, but exceptionally pretty photography for its own sake is a detriment in a narrative fictional movie, not a virtue. The visual aspect of a narrative film should move the story forward. In this case those scenes tend to stop the narrative dead in it's tracks. There are long sequences in "La Perla" that are nothing but a travelogue put in to pad the running time, while other portions are obviously shot on RKO's back lot. There's nothing realistic about the clean clothes of most of the villagers, and the perfect makeup of the leading lady is always in place, even after she's allegedly been trudging through a swamp for days. This is a phony Hollywood film. If you want to see the real conditions Mexicans and Mexican Americans lived under see "Salt of the Earth," even though it is set in the New Mexico. That's a great film. This is a one note morality tale with mediocre acting and trite symbolism.

After deciding not to read any books written by John Steinbeck after being forced to read OF Mice and Men (OMaM!) at a zombie-like pace,my dad told me about a Steinbeck short story,which he felt was Steinbeck's greatest work.Putting my feelings on OMaM to the side,I found Steinbeck's atmospheric short story to be offer everything that I was looking for.Talking to a DVD seller a few weeks ago,I was shocked to discover that there was a film adaptation of the short story,which led to me excitingly getting to dive for the pearl.

The plot:

Taking their baby to the doctor, Quino & his wife Juana are told that the doctor will not see them,due to them not having anything of value to give him.Feeling distraught over the doctors treatment towards them,Quino heads to sea with his fellow villagers,in search of deep sea treasures.

Returning home,Quino reveals to Juana that he has gotten hold of a perfect pearl,which will make them rich beyond their wildest dreams.Celebrating their new wealth with their fellow villagers,Quino and Juana notice people who acted like they didn't even exist (such as the Dr) in the past,suddenly appearing and offering everything they could want,in exchange for the pearl.As they start to find everyone closing in on them for the pearl,Juana begins to feel that Quino should have left the pearl to rot away in the ocean.

View on the film:

Filmed on location in Mexico,co-writer/ (along with John Steinbeck and Jack Wagner)director Emilio Fernández and cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa give the film an extraordinary depth of field,with Fernández and Figueroa showing Quino and Juana's village to be a scorched earth,where the blistering sun shows the complete lack of hope that anyone has in the village of a brighter future.Setting the movie alight with Film Noir oil, Fernández,Figueroa and composer Antonio Díaz Conde brilliantly reveal the raw,decaying impact that the pearl has on Quino and Juana,thanks to Fernández allowing the black tar waves to overflow onto the village,as the pearl is shown to completely block out any light from entering Juana and Quino's life.

Written before Steinbeck decided to turn the screenplay into a short story (!),the writers delicately allow the viewer to see the close- knitted bond between Quino,Juana and their baby,thanks to the writers showing each of them attempting to make the most out of a tough life by keeping their family unit strong.Hitting the family with a dazzling pearl,the writers subtly show the relationship between Quino and Juana to gradually fracture,as Juana starts to see the pearl as an embodiment of all the evil in their lives,whilst Quino becomes obsessed with the power that the ownership of the pearl offers him.

Slithering across the screen, Charles Rooner gives a brilliant performance as the Dr,with Rooner soaking the Doctors hands in sweat,as he cast his gaze on Quino's pearl.Showing a strong sense of fear over not being able to stop her husband from sinking into a deep abyss,the very pretty María Elena Marqués gives an excellent,fragile performance as Juana,which matches sensitivity with a bubbling anxiety over the rotten road that her family are going down.Casting a wide smile as he looks into the pearl, Pedro Armendáriz shows the addicted effect that the pearl has on Quino with a raw intensity which peels away every belief that Quino held,as he discovers the pearls of the deep.