Milk of Sorrow [Blu-ray]

A touch of magic realism
Writer/director Claudia Llosa loosely adapts the premise of old-time classics 'The Little Mermaid' and 'Faust' to contemporary Peru. Fausta, beautifully played by Magaly Solier, is a solitary, indigenous girl whose heart is gripped by fear. Her mother, who we see on her deathbed at the start of the film, was raped and scarred for life by The Shining Path (a radical Maoist organization that terrorized Peru during the 80s and early 90s). According to their native culture, her mother's horror was passed on to her through breastfeeding, a condition they call 'The Milk of Sorrow' (in Spanish, 'La Teta Asustada', which translates to 'The Frightened Tit'). Fausta is deeply suspicious of people around her, particularly men, and expresses her repressed emotions only through singing, as she performs her daily chores. Desperately in need for money to bury her dead mother, she begins to work as a housekeeper for Aida, a musician who is preparing for a concert and becomes interested in her songs...

Moving film out of Peru
I was browsing for a good movie to watch and fell by happenstance on this movie. I vaguely remembered it being nominated for a Best Foreign Movie Oscar last year, and that was enough for me to take a chance on this movie. Am I glad I did!

"The Milk of Sorrow" (95 min.; originally released in 2009) is a very moving film out of Peru in which we follow Pausta, a yung woman who is grieving the death of her mother and trying to figure out a way to get her mother out of Lima to her village so that she can be properly buried. Fausta is very suspicious of people around her, in particular men, for reaspns that become clear in the movie. In order to raise the necessary funds for the burial of her mother, Fausta takes a job as a housekeeper. Will Fausta find a way out and get her mom the burial she needs? Will she overcome her daily fears? You'll just have to see for yourself how it plays out.

This is a very good movie, and very moving as well. Magaly Solier, in the role of...

A Fear for Your Life!
Milk of Sorrow, through various reasons, received a good share of awards, including nomination for Oscar's Best Foreign language Film 2009. However, the Oscar went to The Secret in Their Eyes, from Argentina.

This isn't a film for every or anyone. It is slow paced, with an array of background weddings and celebrations that contrast to the dismal and psychological life of a young girl, who is making financial attempts to bury her mother. The film is with plenty of metaphor and symbolic meanings.

The opening scene sets the mood for the film, an old lady lay dying, and she sings the song that reveals her past. In the earlier days of Peru, with its hardened violence, women especially endured multiple rapings, as much as 30 in one night, that resulted in pregnancy. During the pregnancy, it was believed that the traumatic experience was passed on to the child through the breast milk... therefore titled, the Milk of Sorrow.

Faustina, a beautiful young...

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