Santitos (1997)

Synopsis: Magic realism and comedic-melodrama swirl together in Springhall's hagiographic tale about grief, faith and desire. Esperanza (Heredia), a young widow mourning the recent death of her only... Magic realism and comedic-melodrama swirl together in Springhall's hagiographic tale about grief, faith and desire. Esperanza (Heredia), a young widow mourning the recent death of her only daughter, finds a renewed sense of purpose when an apparition of Saint Jude--the patron saint of lost causes--materializes in the grease on her oven door and informs her that her daughter Blanca (Zapata) is alive. Convinced that a local doctor has kidnapped Blanca for lascivious purposes, the staunchly devout Esperanza, with her portable alter in tow, embarks on a CANDIDE-inspired odyssey that takes her from her sheltered life in a provincial town in Veracruz through the brothels and back alleys of Tijuana and Los Angeles. Throughout her quest she maintains contact with Padre Salvador (Laphame)--an eccentric, soap opera-obsessed Catholic priest--whom she telephones with long-distance confessions (via flashbacks) detailing the spiritual and sexual adventures she endures in the name of motherly devotion. Her journey brings her into contact with an increasingly bizarre parade of characters--an opportunistic young pickpocket, a sleazy pimp and his septuagenarian lover, an ailing transsexual Madame with a staple of high-priced girls and a bovine fetish, and a masked wrestler known as the Angel of Justice (Estrella), all of whom offer a version of the truth Esperanza seeks. Winner of the Jury Prize in Latin American Cinema at Sundance, 1999. [More]

Starring: Dolores Heredia, Demian Bichir, Alberto Estrella, Fernando Torre Laphame

Starring: Dolores Heredia, Demian Bichir, Alberto Estrella, Fernando Torre Laphame, Maya Zapata, Ana Bertha Espin, Roberto Cobo, Dario T. Pie, Flor Eduarda Gurrola, Maria Amparo Escandon, Regina Orozco, Pedro Altamirano, Monica Dionne, Juan Duarte, Josefina Echanove, Felipe Ehrenberg, Pilar Ixquic Mata, Francisco Morayta, Jose Sefami, Luis Felipe Tovar, Georgina Tabora, Claudio Valdes, Olimpico

Director: Alejandro Springall

Director: Alejandro Springall
Screenwriter: Maria Amparo Escandon
Producer: Lemore Syvan

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