The Whore and the Whale
Encyclopedia
The Whore and the Whale is a 2004
Argentine
drama film
directed by Luis Puenzo
. The film is about a Spanish writer who finds an old coffer with photographs of an Argentine man who fought and died in the Spanish Civil War
.
takes viewers into a feminine universe that men rarely see. The story interweaves two parallel stories and times, present day and 1934 Patagonia
. Vera (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón
), a popular novelist, discovers an old coffer containing photos and personal papers belonging to an Argentine man, Emilio, who died during the Spanish Civil War
. Many of the photos are of a woman, Lola, who is the person to whom many of the passionate, apologetic letters are addressed but never mailed.
As her curiosity grows about these star-crossed lovers, Vera is diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoes a mastectomy. While recovering in the hospital, by chance her elderly roommate turns out to be Matilde, one of the women in the dead soldier’s group photographs. She inspires Vera to fly to Patagonia to discover the truth.
Through flashbacks, we see the young Emilio (Leonardo Sbaraglia
) as an ambitious photographer who meets and falls in love with a Buenos Aires
showgirl
, Lola (Merçè Llorens). They fly to a remote village in Patagonia and meet a menagerie of interesting characters in the local dance hall. The women in the brothel fascinate Lola, and Emilio, suffering from commitment-panic, decides to sell her to the owner of the establishment. He then leaves her to her fate.
Lola is shocked and angry, and she begins to identify with a beached whale
on a nearby beach, trapped by the low tide and unable to escape back to the open sea. A year later, Emilio returns with a change of heart and attempts to buy her back, with tragic results.
Meanwhile in the present day, we watch Vera identify more and more with Lola’s sense of entrapment, because she learns her cancer has now spread and she needs to start chemotherapy
. She delays her treatment so she can visit the old Patagonian brothel and interview the locals who still remember Emilio and Lola. We see her projecting herself into the past, mentally and eventually physically, interacting with the lovers and the trapped whale.
The use of female frontal nudity throughout the film is realistic considering the brothel and dance hall setting. One of the major themes underlying the journey taken by Vera’s character is her coming to terms with the loss of her breast. At the end of the film, her standing nude before of her lover for the first time is an act of personal courage that represents acceptance of her body as it is.
“This is a film that has to do more with dreams and poetry than with rational thought,” Puenzo stated in an interview when the film was released. “La Puta y la Ballena is poetic, sensitive, dreamy and metaphysical.”
Argentine films of 2004
A list of films produced in Argentina in 2004:-2004:-External links and references:* at the Internet Movie Database...
Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Luis Puenzo
Luis Puenzo
Luis Adalberto Puenzo is an Argentine film director, producer and screenplay writer.He works mainly in the cinema of Argentina, but has also worked in the United States.-Biography:...
. The film is about a Spanish writer who finds an old coffer with photographs of an Argentine man who fought and died in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
Cast
- Leonardo SbaragliaLeonardo SbaragliaLeonardo Máximo Sbaraglia is a prominent Argentine film actor, with extensive credits in both Argentina and Spain.He has also worked in Mexico, and was cast in his first English-language role in Red Lights.-Life and work:...
... Emilio - Aitana Sánchez-GijónAitana Sánchez-GijónAitana Sánchez-Gijón is a Spanish-Italian film actress.Best known for playing dramatic roles in Spain, Sánchez-Gijón is known in the United States for her portrayal of Victoria Aragon, a pregnant and abandoned Mexican-American winegrower's daughter who is helped by travelling salesman Paul Sutton ...
... Vera - Pep Munné ... Jordi
- Mercè Llorens ... Lola
- Martín Caloni ... Juanito
- Pompeyo Audivert ... El gringo Orestes
- Miguel Ángel SoláMiguel Ángel SoláMiguel Ángel Solá is a prolific Argentine actor who has made over 60 film appearances in film and TV in Argentina since 1973....
... Suárez - Nicolás Tognola ... El Pibe Pedro
- Belén Blanco ... Matilde
- Natalia Otero ... Prostituta
- Carola ReynaCarola ReynaCarola Reyna is an Argentine actress and director. She is married to actor Boy Olmi since 1994.-Television:* Tal como somos * Extraños y Amantes as Ana María* Pasión...
... Meme - Lydia LamaisonLydia LamaisonLydia Lamaison is an Argentine actress. She has appeared in 47 films and television shows since 1939. She starred in the film La caída, which was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:...
... Matilde - Óscar Guzmán ... Urondo
- Eduardo Nutkiewitz ... Ernesto (as Edward Nutkiewicz)
- Nina Krakoff ... Prostitute
Plot synopsis and review
Director Luis PuenzoLuis Puenzo
Luis Adalberto Puenzo is an Argentine film director, producer and screenplay writer.He works mainly in the cinema of Argentina, but has also worked in the United States.-Biography:...
takes viewers into a feminine universe that men rarely see. The story interweaves two parallel stories and times, present day and 1934 Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
. Vera (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón
Aitana Sánchez-Gijón
Aitana Sánchez-Gijón is a Spanish-Italian film actress.Best known for playing dramatic roles in Spain, Sánchez-Gijón is known in the United States for her portrayal of Victoria Aragon, a pregnant and abandoned Mexican-American winegrower's daughter who is helped by travelling salesman Paul Sutton ...
), a popular novelist, discovers an old coffer containing photos and personal papers belonging to an Argentine man, Emilio, who died during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. Many of the photos are of a woman, Lola, who is the person to whom many of the passionate, apologetic letters are addressed but never mailed.
As her curiosity grows about these star-crossed lovers, Vera is diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoes a mastectomy. While recovering in the hospital, by chance her elderly roommate turns out to be Matilde, one of the women in the dead soldier’s group photographs. She inspires Vera to fly to Patagonia to discover the truth.
Through flashbacks, we see the young Emilio (Leonardo Sbaraglia
Leonardo Sbaraglia
Leonardo Máximo Sbaraglia is a prominent Argentine film actor, with extensive credits in both Argentina and Spain.He has also worked in Mexico, and was cast in his first English-language role in Red Lights.-Life and work:...
) as an ambitious photographer who meets and falls in love with a Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
showgirl
Showgirl
A showgirl is a dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show. Showgirl is also often used as a term for a promotional model in trade fairs and car shows, etc...
, Lola (Merçè Llorens). They fly to a remote village in Patagonia and meet a menagerie of interesting characters in the local dance hall. The women in the brothel fascinate Lola, and Emilio, suffering from commitment-panic, decides to sell her to the owner of the establishment. He then leaves her to her fate.
Lola is shocked and angry, and she begins to identify with a beached whale
Beached whale
A beached whale is a whale that has stranded itself on land, usually on a beach. Beached whales often die due to dehydration, the body collapsing under its own weight, or drowning when high tide covers the blowhole.-Species:...
on a nearby beach, trapped by the low tide and unable to escape back to the open sea. A year later, Emilio returns with a change of heart and attempts to buy her back, with tragic results.
Meanwhile in the present day, we watch Vera identify more and more with Lola’s sense of entrapment, because she learns her cancer has now spread and she needs to start chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
. She delays her treatment so she can visit the old Patagonian brothel and interview the locals who still remember Emilio and Lola. We see her projecting herself into the past, mentally and eventually physically, interacting with the lovers and the trapped whale.
The use of female frontal nudity throughout the film is realistic considering the brothel and dance hall setting. One of the major themes underlying the journey taken by Vera’s character is her coming to terms with the loss of her breast. At the end of the film, her standing nude before of her lover for the first time is an act of personal courage that represents acceptance of her body as it is.
“This is a film that has to do more with dreams and poetry than with rational thought,” Puenzo stated in an interview when the film was released. “La Puta y la Ballena is poetic, sensitive, dreamy and metaphysical.”