Alfonsina Storni was an Argentine poet and journalist who made a successful career in the rough-and-tumble world of reporting, and in a very macho society.
Kurt Land does quite a nice job of bringing her story to the screen. Land was from Vienna, so he has a romantic atmosphere somewhat similar to Ernst Lubitsch. This style of movie-making was dated even in 1957, but Alfonsina does have some nice stylistic touches; they use voice-overs of AS's poetry to accompany some of the elegiac scenes (I figure this was a big influence on I the Worst of All, another great Argentine film).
Spoiler It is well known that Alfonsina ended her life by walking into the sea after discovering that she had cancer; Felix Luna and Ariel Ramirez wrote a famous song about it (Alfonsina y el Mar) that was probably inspired by this movie, and Mercedes Sosa has done a stunningly beautiful rendition of it.
The movie opens with a great shot of waves breaking ominously on the seashore, accompanied by AS's poetry - this scene is better appreciated if you know the story. Another scene has Alfonsina looking into a fish-bowl and saying "I wonder what it would be like to live under the sea".
There's also a startling scene where Alfonsina announces the news of her illness; suffice to say that it's handled in a way very different from Hollywood.
The film is too slow-moving to be considered a masterpiece, but it has a lot entertainment value. I recommend it for those who would like to explore a different culture, or to know about one of the more interesting figures of the XX century.
Kurt Land does quite a nice job of bringing her story to the screen. Land was from Vienna, so he has a romantic atmosphere somewhat similar to Ernst Lubitsch. This style of movie-making was dated even in 1957, but Alfonsina does have some nice stylistic touches; they use voice-overs of AS's poetry to accompany some of the elegiac scenes (I figure this was a big influence on I the Worst of All, another great Argentine film).
Spoiler It is well known that Alfonsina ended her life by walking into the sea after discovering that she had cancer; Felix Luna and Ariel Ramirez wrote a famous song about it (Alfonsina y el Mar) that was probably inspired by this movie, and Mercedes Sosa has done a stunningly beautiful rendition of it.
The movie opens with a great shot of waves breaking ominously on the seashore, accompanied by AS's poetry - this scene is better appreciated if you know the story. Another scene has Alfonsina looking into a fish-bowl and saying "I wonder what it would be like to live under the sea".
There's also a startling scene where Alfonsina announces the news of her illness; suffice to say that it's handled in a way very different from Hollywood.
The film is too slow-moving to be considered a masterpiece, but it has a lot entertainment value. I recommend it for those who would like to explore a different culture, or to know about one of the more interesting figures of the XX century.
