Mi querida señorita
Encyclopedia
Mi querida señorita is a 1972
1972 in film
The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...

 Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 directed by Jaime de Armiñán. A black comedy on the subject of sex change
Sex change
Sex change is a term often used for gender reassignment therapy, that is, all medical procedures transgendered people can have, or specifically to sexual reassignment surgery, which usually refers to genitalia surgery only...

, it was the first Spanish film that talked about sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...

, which was a taboo subject in Spain during Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...

's regime.

Synopsis

Adela is a 43-year-old spinster who lives quietly alone in an isolated northern provincial Spanish village. With no other accomplishments of a "lady of rank" and a small annuity, she spends her days sewing and doing charity work. Never feeling particularly attracted to men, she is waited upon in her home by a faithful lady's maid named Isabelita, who adores her.

One day, the local bank manager starts to court Adela and sets his sights on marriage. Adela, repelled by the physical contact of her suitor, resolves, after an argument with her Isabelita over the situation, to consult a doctor. Adela fires Isabelita, but sees the doctor anyway. Adela discovers after the consultation that she is not a woman after all, but a man. The former Adela takes then a new masculine identity as "Juan", and moves from the village to Madrid.

Juan arrives in Madrid and accidentally meets Isabelita, the servant girl he fired when he was Adela. Juan searches for a job and a new purpose in his life with his new identity. Life is very hard in Madrid and Juan uses his sewing skills to bring him a small income and enable him to obtain a work permit. However, he has problems securing an identity card.

As Juan prospers, he falls in love with Isabelita, but denies himself consummation of their affair for fear of a poor sexual response. Eventually, Juan is able to fulfill his duties as a man and is successful with Isabelita. While making love to her, he warns that one day he will tell her a secret. Isabelita says then: "There is no need, señorita", showing that she has known for sometime his secret.

Cast

  • José Luis López Vázquez
    José Luis López Vázquez
    José Luis López Vázquez de la Torre was a Spanish actor. -Career:López Vázquez was born in Madrid. He originally worked in theater as a costume designer, a scenic designer, and as an assistant director to Pío Ballesteros and Enrique Herreros. In 1946, he switched over to film, with a small role in...

    ... Adela Castro Molina/Juan
  • Julieta Serrano
    Julieta Serrano
    Julieta Serrano Romero is a Catalan theatre and cinema actress. Her prolific career began in the 1960s, and she has worked with directors Pedro Almodóvar and Ventura Pons.-Filmography:...

    ... Isabelita
  • Antonio Ferrandis ... Santiago
  • Enrique Ávila ... Father José María
  • Lola Gaos
    Lola Gaos
    Lola Gaos, , was a Spanish film, television and theatre actress....

    ... Aunt Chus
  • Chus Lampreave
    Chus Lampreave
    Chus Lampreave is a Spanish actress.She started in movies in 1958, but she became internationally known thanks to her roles in films by Pedro Almodóvar, where she plays old ladies with maternal or pastoral traits.- Filmography :...

    ... Chus' niece
  • Mónica Randall ... Feli
  • José Luis Borau
    José Luis Borau
    José Luis Borau Moradell is a Spanish producer, screenwriter, writer, and film director. He has acted in some films.He won Goya Award as Best Director in 2000 for Leo....

      ... Doctor

Reception

The film had a great controversy because it was made in the late time of Franquism. However, it attracted international attention and was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Film in 1973. José Luis López Vázquez
José Luis López Vázquez
José Luis López Vázquez de la Torre was a Spanish actor. -Career:López Vázquez was born in Madrid. He originally worked in theater as a costume designer, a scenic designer, and as an assistant director to Pío Ballesteros and Enrique Herreros. In 1946, he switched over to film, with a small role in...

 gives a bravura performance with delicacy. The film never degenerates into a cheap, sensational comedy but is full of humor, pathos and humility. Jaime de Armiñán shows his own strong literary and theatrical influences with an originality not seen before in Spanish cinema.
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