This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Pedro Armendariz.
I do not think that people outside of Latin America realize the beauty of Mexican cinema from their own Golden Age. If people consider Mexican films, they think of Guillermo del Toro or Alfonso Cuarón. Long before them, however, there were filmmakers like Emilio "El Indio" Fernandez and Roberto Gavaldon. His film El Rebozo de Soledad (Soledad's Shawl) is a beautiful looking film, with good performances that still impress all these decades later.
Told mostly in flashback, Soledad's Shawl is of the experiences of Dr. Alberto Robles (Arturo de Cordova). He is an idealistic doctor who has gone to the rural town of Santa Cruz to start his medical practice. Here, he has to combat the traditional folk medicine of the curanderos. These local faith healers are nothing more than witch doctors to Dr. Robles. He finds it his mission to fight these superstitions, just as the curanderos fight him.
One person whom he does fight is Roque Suazo (Pedro Armendariz). He owns vast land around Santa Cruz, but he is no grandee. He is pretty rural in his outlook and manner. After his beloved mother passes away despite the curanderos' efforts, he leaves the area. This is the perfect opportunity for corrupt official David Acosta (Carlos Lopez Moctezuma) to sweep in take the property, which he rents out while pocketing the money.
Robles stays out of things. He also is disillusioned by the local community's fierce faith in curanderos. He decides to leave Santa Cruz over the urging of his friend, Father Juan (Domingo Soler). At the train station, he performs an impromptu tracheotomy on an infant. Now convinced that he is needed in town after, Robles stays.
He helps save the arm of Mauro (Jaime Fernandez), the brother of local beauty Soledad (Estela Inda). Soledad is indeed solitary, but she is loyal and caring. In gratitude, she helps Dr. Robles at his clinic. It is here that Suazo returns to his lands. He is first enraged to find Soledad and Mauro squatting on his property. He softens somewhat when he finds that they were deceived about the ownership. He also finds Soledad beautiful, a feeling that is not mutual. Suazo presses but does not force anything on Soledad.
She is in love with Robles. Robles does not want to admit that he too is in love with her. Things come to a head for Robles, Soledad and Suazo when she goes to a local wedding. Will Suazo finally force himself on the virginal Soledad? Will Robles be able to save her? Will he go to Mexico City and find curing wealthy hypochondriacs is better than curing peasants?
In perhaps a case of something getting lost in translation, the Spanish title of Soledad's Shawl may have a double meaning. El Rebozo de Soledad does indeed mean "Soledad's Shawl", the head and shoulder covering that Suazo attempts to present to her as a token of his affection. Soledad, however, can also mean "solitude". As such, the title could mean "the Shawl of Solitude". This is I think accurate as the three principal characters are alone. Robles is the most alone, as he is left to mourn his own losses romantic and idealistic. Soledad too is alone, her love for Robles mostly ignored by him. Suazo is also alone, though his actions are more brutal.
Gavaldon coadapted Javier Lopez Ferrer's novel with Jose Revueltas and with uncredited work from actress Inda. They did a masterful job of showing just enough without having to be graphic. The most effective "less is more" moment is when Suazo corners Soledad under a bridge. Here, it is clear exactly what he did to her. However, we never see anything. We see him approach the frightened Soledad. We see him take her shawl, which is clean and well-maintained. We then see it trampled underfoot.
After that, Soledad's shawl is torn and battered. Francisco Dominguez's score, Gavaldon's direction and the performances from Armendariz and Inda all tells us what has happened without showing us.
The film is also strongly acted. Arturo de Cordova, like Pedro Armendariz, spoke English, allowing both of them to go from Mexican to American films. De Cordova's Dr. Robles is a strong performance. He is both idealistic and demoralized, strong and shattered. We see him initially as a broken man, the weight of the tragedies he has lived heavy on him. In the flashbacks, we see how he got to his position. However, we also see him revived when he calls out the quacks that he came close to joining. In his stubbornness, in his moral rectitude, de Cordova excels as Dr. Robles.
Inda too brought Soledad's integrity, innocence and devotion to her brother and Dr. Robles. She plays a traditional Mexican woman, but also one not afraid to stand up to Suazo on occasion.
Armendariz has the most complex role in Soledad's Shawl. He is in some ways a good man. He will not allow the corrupt Acosta to bully him. He also has joie de vivre when he arrives at the wedding, bringing the gift of a gun and shawl to the groom and bride. This is a man of the soil, but also one who watches for his community. However, Suazo is also someone who had reached the end of his patience with Soledad. His actions are cruel. Despite this, one senses that he did feel something of regret, which he did not do when he whipped another squatter and then bullied him into not telling Acosta who did it.
This is a good scene. Robles is attending to the man's wounds, with Acosta badgering the victim to tell him who did it. Suazo, who is in the operating room, says nothing, but makes clear what will happen if the man squeals. Frightened, the victim insists that "the devil" did it, adding that if he says more, the devil will do worse. Perhaps the viewer does get something of a catharsis when Suazo meets justice, but there is still a twinge of regret.
Beautifully acted and films, Soledad's Shawl is an interesting tale that manages to end with a touch of hope despite the tragedies we have seen.
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