Lucia
1969
Director: Humberto Solas
Starring: Raquel Revuelta, Eslinda
Nunez, Adela Legra
I
*must* open this review by thanking the man who made it possible, Chip of TipsFrom Chip, who VERY kindly noticed I hadn’t seen this and sent me his DVD
copy. I’ve had solid success in locating
hard to find films from 1001 Films, but there have been some titles that
have constantly eluded me, and this was one of them. So THANK YOU CHIP for providing me an
opportunity to cross this one off the list.
The
central narrative structure in Lucia is based on an interesting
conceit. We have three separate stories,
told one at a time, each following a woman named Lucia in different time
periods in Cuba. The first, set in 1895
has Lucia (Revuelta) falling for a well-to-do man who, in turn, deceives
her. This is set against the backdrop of
revolution against the Spanish. The
second, set in the 1930s, has its Lucia (Nunez) falling for a revolutionary and
getting caught up in the world of strikes and attacks and governmental
overthrow herself. The third, set in the
“current” Cuba of the 1960s, has its Lucia (Legra) as a worker at a communal
farm who marries fellow communist and farm worker Tomas. But Tomas is insanely jealous, and soon
physically locks Lucia in his house during the day, refusing to let her leave.
