''Waiting for the Hearse'' (''Esperando la carroza'' in Spanish) is a 1985
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Alejandro Doria
Alejandro Doria (November 1, 1936 – June 17, 2009) was a noted Argentine cinema and television director.
Life and work
Born in Buenos Aires in 1936, he first worked for Argentine television in 1965 as a writer for a local variety show, ''S ...
. It is considered a
cult film
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...
. It opened on 6 May 1985.
The story belongs to the ''criollo''
grotesque (
costumbrismo) genre or
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
. It's based on the play of the same name by
Jacobo Langsner
Jacobo Langsner (23 June 1927 – 10 August 2020) was a Uruguayan playwright who had a strong presence in the Uruguayan theatre from 1950 onwards. His work is a showcase of middle-class hypocrisy.
Langsner was born in Romuli, Kingdom of Romania i ...
, premiered by the ''Comedia Nacional'' company in 1962. The film adaptation starred some great local stars from the theater world like
Antonio Gasalla
Antonio Gasalla (born March 9, 1941) is an Argentine actor, comedian, and theatre director.
Life and work
Antonio Gasalla was born in Ramos Mejía, a western suburb of Buenos Aires, in 1941. He enrolled at the National Dramatic Arts Conservatory ...
,
China Zorrilla
China Zorrilla (; born Concepción Matilde Zorrilla de San Martín Muñoz; 14 March 1922 – 17 September 2014) was an Uruguayan theater, film, and television actress, also director, producer and writer. An immensely popular star in the Rioplaten ...
,
Luis Brandoni
Adalberto Luis Brandoni (born 18 April 1940) is an Argentine actor and politician.
Biography
Brandoni was born in Dock Sud, a port community east of Avellaneda. He debuted on the stage in 1962, television in 1963, and on film in 1966. He joined ...
and
Betiana Blum
Betiana Blum (born in Charata, Chaco in 1939 as Betty Ana Blum) is an Argentine actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatr ...
. In the
River Plate culture, it's considered to be a classic and its reruns on TV still draw large audiences. On April 2, 2009, 23 years after the original film's release, a sequel, ''Waiting for the Hearse 2'', was released.
In a survey of the
100 greatest films of Argentine cinema carried out by the
Museo del Cine Pablo Ducrós Hicken
Museo del Cine Pablo Ducrós Hicken is a museum of cinema of Argentina located in Buenos Aires. It was established on 1971 and holds a collection of 65,000 reels of film.
History
The Cinema Museum of the City of Buenos Aires was created on Oc ...
in 2000, the film reached the 12th position. In a new version of the survey organized in 2022 by the specialized magazines ''La vida útil'', ''Taipei'' and ''La tierra quema'', presented at the
Mar del Plata International Film Festival, the film reached the 16th position. Also in 2022, the film was included in Spanish magazine ''
Fotogramas''s list of the 20 best Argentine films of all time.
Background
The film was an adaptation of the play ''Esperando la carroza'' (''Waiting for the Hearse'') by Romanian-Uruguayan Jacobo Langsner and its TV adaptation, broadcast as a part of a show called ''Alta Comedia'' by
Channel 9 of Buenos Aires during the 1970s, starred
China Zorrilla
China Zorrilla (; born Concepción Matilde Zorrilla de San Martín Muñoz; 14 March 1922 – 17 September 2014) was an Uruguayan theater, film, and television actress, also director, producer and writer. An immensely popular star in the Rioplaten ...
who would go on to play the main role on the big screen adaptation later on,
Pepe Soriano, Raúl Rossi,
Dora Baret
Dora Baret (born July 7, 1940) is an Argentine film, theatre and television actress. She was the female lead in '' Darse cuenta'' which won the 1984 Silver Condor Award for Best Film''.''
Life and work
She was born Dora Barrera in 1940 in Huer ...
,
Alberto Argibay
Alberto Argibay (25 October 1932 – 10 September 2007) was an Argentine actor. He appeared in 51 films and television shows between 1958 and 1998. He starred in the film ''Circe'', which was entered into the 14th Berlin International Film ...
, Lita Soriano,
Alicia Berdaxágar Alicia may refer to:
People
* Alicia (given name), list of people with this name
* Alisha (singer) (born 1968), US pop singer
* Melinda Padovano (born 1987), a professional wrestler, known by her ring name, Alicia
Places
* Alicia, Bohol, Phil ...
, Marta Gam and the special appearance of the Austrian actress and acting teacher Hedy Crilla (1898–1984) as ''Mamá Cora''.
Author and director
Alejandro Doria
Alejandro Doria (November 1, 1936 – June 17, 2009) was a noted Argentine cinema and television director.
Life and work
Born in Buenos Aires in 1936, he first worked for Argentine television in 1965 as a writer for a local variety show, ''S ...
rewrote the script for it to include more lines for the ''Mamá Cora'' character, which had very few in both previous versions, among other modifications.
Plot
![China Zorrilla Antonio Gasalla Esperando la carroza](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/China_Zorrilla_Antonio_Gasalla_Esperando_la_carroza.jpg)
Musicardi's octogenarian widow, Ana María de los Dolores Buscaroli, called Mamá Cora by everybody (
Antonio Gasalla
Antonio Gasalla (born March 9, 1941) is an Argentine actor, comedian, and theatre director.
Life and work
Antonio Gasalla was born in Ramos Mejía, a western suburb of Buenos Aires, in 1941. He enrolled at the National Dramatic Arts Conservatory ...
), has four children: Antonio (
Luis Brandoni
Adalberto Luis Brandoni (born 18 April 1940) is an Argentine actor and politician.
Biography
Brandoni was born in Dock Sud, a port community east of Avellaneda. He debuted on the stage in 1962, television in 1963, and on film in 1966. He joined ...
), Sergio (
Juan Manuel Tenuta), Emilia (Lidia Catalano) and Jorge Musicardi (
Julio De Grazia Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to:
*Julio (given name)
*Julio (surname)
*Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
* ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...
) with whom she lives and goes through financial troubles. This situation, plus lack of space and constant generational conflicts, makes Susana (Jorge's wife) ask desperately for the siblings-in-law to take their mother with any of them for a while.
Susana had a domestic problem with Mamá Cora. The first was preparing some
mayonnaise
Mayonnaise (; ), colloquially referred to as "mayo" , is a thick, cold, and creamy sauce or dressing commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, composed salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various other sauces, such as tartar ...
and she went to nurse her daughter leaving the ingredients alone. Mamá Cora remembered an earlier conversation about
caramel custard
Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.
The process of carameli ...
, and she thought that this concoction was to make some of it, so she innocently added sugar, milk and eggs, causing Susana's rage. Susana storms into Sergio's house, who's getting ready with his perfidious wife Elvira (
China Zorrilla
China Zorrilla (; born Concepción Matilde Zorrilla de San Martín Muñoz; 14 March 1922 – 17 September 2014) was an Uruguayan theater, film, and television actress, also director, producer and writer. An immensely popular star in the Rioplaten ...
) and their daughter Matilde (
Andrea Tenuta) to welcome, with the classic Sunday meal, newly rich Antonio (
Luis Brandoni
Adalberto Luis Brandoni (born 18 April 1940) is an Argentine actor and politician.
Biography
Brandoni was born in Dock Sud, a port community east of Avellaneda. He debuted on the stage in 1962, television in 1963, and on film in 1966. He joined ...
) and Nora, his wife (
Betiana Blum
Betiana Blum (born in Charata, Chaco in 1939 as Betty Ana Blum) is an Argentine actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatr ...
), who ascended socially and economically in unclear circumstances during
Argentina's last dictatorship. Mamá Cora's destiny is debated while lunch is burnt: Sunday
ravioli
Ravioli (; singular: ''raviolo'', ) are a type of pasta comprising a filling enveloped in thin pasta dough. Usually served in broth or with a sauce, they originated as a traditional food in Italian cuisine. Ravioli are commonly square, though o ...
and the tomato sauce made by Elvira. No one wants to take responsibility for the old lady with the women speaking out their opinions and the men trying to maintain respect for the name of their mother.
On her own, Mamá Cora, due to what happened with Susana, decides to go out and stop bothering everyone for some hours. She ends up in the house across Sergio's taking care, as a favor, of the son of Dominga (the neighbor). Nobody finds her and, considering the "disappearance" after the fight with the daughter-in-law, plus the news about a disfigured body of an old lady who committed suicide throwing herself under a train, the remorseful clan comes to the hastened conclusion that Mamá Cora has killed herself so she could stop causing trouble. After double-checking with the police thanks to Antonio's "contacts", the tragedy is informed to the distant relatives and the humble working class Emilia (sister of Jorge, Sergio and Antonio), who arrives with despair over the terrible news.
In the meantime, from Dominga's terrace, Mamá Cora watches people coming and going in and out from Sergio and Elvira's house. Years of troubles, resentment and intrigues come up between all of them while they prepare the service for Mamá Cora. Misunderstandings follow and family's awful truths surface. In the middle of her own vigil, Mamá Cora reappears leaving everybody astonished. The family reconsiders and values the presence of its elder member while she and her friends go to the other woman's service (the old lady who had committed suicide), a
Hungarian woman whose body was sent to the Musicardi family by mistake. Susana laughs out loud in front of her disconcerted relatives; she mocks them and herself, because from now on nothing will be the same again.
Cast
![Esperando la carroza2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Esperando_la_carroza2.jpg)
*
Luis Brandoni
Adalberto Luis Brandoni (born 18 April 1940) is an Argentine actor and politician.
Biography
Brandoni was born in Dock Sud, a port community east of Avellaneda. He debuted on the stage in 1962, television in 1963, and on film in 1966. He joined ...
as Antonio Musicardi
*
China Zorrilla
China Zorrilla (; born Concepción Matilde Zorrilla de San Martín Muñoz; 14 March 1922 – 17 September 2014) was an Uruguayan theater, film, and television actress, also director, producer and writer. An immensely popular star in the Rioplaten ...
as Elvira Romero-Musicardi (Sergio's wife)
*
Antonio Gasalla
Antonio Gasalla (born March 9, 1941) is an Argentine actor, comedian, and theatre director.
Life and work
Antonio Gasalla was born in Ramos Mejía, a western suburb of Buenos Aires, in 1941. He enrolled at the National Dramatic Arts Conservatory ...
as Ana María de los Dolores Buscarolli-Musicardi (Mamá Cora)
*
Betiana Blum
Betiana Blum (born in Charata, Chaco in 1939 as Betty Ana Blum) is an Argentine actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatr ...
as Nora (Antonio's wife)
*
Julio de Grazia Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to:
*Julio (given name)
*Julio (surname)
*Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
* ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...
as Jorge Musicardi
*
Mónica Villa as Susana (Jorge's wife)
*
Juan Manuel Tenuta as Sergio Musicardi
*
Andrea Tenuta as Matilde Musicardi (Sergio and Elvira's daughter)
*
Darío Grandinetti
Darío Alejandro Grandinetti (born March 5, 1959) is an Argentine actor. He is known for his numerous roles in television, theater and film, where he participated in films by renowned directors such as Alejandro Doria, Pedro Almodóvar and Dami ...
as Cacho (Emilia's son)
*
Cecilia Rossetto
Cecilia is a personal name originating in the name of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music.
The name has been popularly used in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Italy, where in 2018 it was the 43rd most popular name for girls born ...
as Dominga
*
Enrique Pinti
Enrique Pinti (7 October 1939 – 27 March 2022) was an Argentine actor and comedian.
Life
As a humorist, he performed stand-up shows with long monologues on Argentine politics and history, speaking at an extremely fast pace and resorting to a ...
as Felipe
*
Lidia Catalano
Lidia may refer to:
* Lidia (given name)
* ''Lidia'' (spider), a spider genus
* Hurricane Lidia, multiple storms
* ''Comoedia Lydiae'', a medieval Latin elegiac comedy from the late twelfth century
* Spanish Fighting Bull, also known as ''toro ...
as Emilia Musicardi
*
Clotilde Borella
Clotilde ( 474–545), also known as Clothilde, Clotilda, Clotild, Rotilde etc. (Latin: Chrodechildis, Chlodechildis from Frankish ''*Hrōþihildi'' or perhaps ''*Hlōdihildi'', both "famous in battle"), was a Queen of All the Franks. She was s ...
as Doña Elisa
*
Juan Acosta as Peralta
Production
The house where the action takes place is in the neighborhood
Versalles
Versalles is a town and municipality located in the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia.
Versalles is a town near El Dovio and Roldanillo
Roldanillo is a town and municipality located in the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. ...
in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, on Echenagucía St. It was restored and declared Cultural Heritage of the city of
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
.
Reception
''Waiting for the Hearse'' was initially not well received by critics upon its release, and it was a moderate success at the box office. It later became a
cult classic in Argentine cinema, and - since the first decades after its release - it has been considered as a story that reflects a bitter
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
of the Argentine
idiosyncrasy, the reality in the late '70s and early 80's and the disregard for senior people, as well as the state of the post-
dictatorship
A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...
society.
The script won the ''Argentores Award'' (the award of the Argentine Authors' Union) and the
Argentine Film Critics Association
The Argentine Film Critics Association ( es, Asociación de Cronistas Cinematográficos de la Argentina) is an organization of Argentine-based journalists and correspondents. The association presents the ''Silver Condor Awards'' (''Premios Cóndor ...
award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
''Esperando la carroza'' - The best movies in our country
Livra.ar
Legacy
As a cult classic, every year the film draws surprising levels of audiences when it is broadcast on TV, generally on Sundays, since the story takes place on a Sunday, and the dialogues have set catchphrases and expressions that have been incorporated to the everyday language of both Argentina and Uruguay.
Celebrating two decades from its opening, in 2005 the film's DVD was launched with backstage and deleted scenes, plus an interview with Doria.
The character of "Mamá Cora" was later played by Antonio Gasalla in many other TV shows, including his own.
Sequel
The sequel, ''Waiting for the Hearse 2'', was filmed in 2008 with a script that was written by Jacobo Langsner in 1986. The film was later released in 2009. It received very negative reviews and did poorly at the box office. The role of Jorge was taken by Roberto Carnaghi
Roberto Luis Carnaghi (born May 13, 1938) is an Argentine actor who has appeared in 44 films, about 60 plays, more than 50 television programmes, and nearly 100 advertisements.
Biography
Carnaghi was born on May 13, 1938, in Avellaneda. He stud ...
, due to Julio de Grazia's death in 1989.
Remakes and adaptations
Among the different international adaptations, there is a Portuguese TV movie titled ''Querida mãe'' ("Beloved mom"), based on the movie.
An homonymous play was premiered in Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, with Spanish actors speaking with a rioplatense
Rioplatense Spanish (), also known as Rioplatense Castilian, is a variety of Spanish spoken mainly in and around the Río de la Plata Basin of Argentina and Uruguay. It is also referred to as River Plate Spanish or Argentine Spanish. It is the ...
accent.
A Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
by Fox Filmes do Brasil and Globo Filmes was released in 2008, starring Ary Fontoura
Ary Beira Fontoura (born 27 January 1933)Fontoura, Ary ''Entre Rios e Janeiros, Coleção Aplauso'' (Imprensa Oficial, 2006, ) p. 240 is a Brazilian actor, writer, director, poet and TV-presenter. He was born in Curitiba, Paraná.
Filmography Te ...
and titled ''A guerra dos Rocha'' (The war of the Rochas).
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 0089108
1985 films
Argentine comedy films
1985 comedy films
1980s Spanish-language films
Films shot in Buenos Aires
Films set in Buenos Aires
Films directed by Alejandro Doria