María Candelaria

María Candelaria (1944) was part of Dolores del Rio rise to screen royalty in Mexico, but for me this production didn't work as well as intended. I mean, there is a certain ambiance about this tragic love story, but the whole melodramatic emotional effect gets trapped by that same ambiance and is never let out. Almost like it was a montage, where you can sense what you're supposed to feel, but you don't get to feel it.

Filmed in a beautiful setting, otherwise disappointing. It's not without its interesting moments (the doctor vs. "bone cracker" exchange was fun), but most of the text is just crap melodrama, to the point of silliness, and the main cast is really really bad. The pig's acting is considerably better than Dolores del Rio's.