''The House of Water'' ( es, La casa de agua) is a 1983 Venezuelan drama film of the nation's Golden Age directed by

Jacobo Penzo Jacobo Penzo (born 1948 in Carora), is a Venezuelan filmmaker, best known for his drama piece '' The House of Water'', shown in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival in 1984. The film also represented Venezuela in the Best ...

. The film was selected as the Venezuelan entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

57th Academy Awards The 57th Academy Awards were presented March 25, 1985, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. Jack Lemmon presided over the ceremonies. This ceremony marked the first time that multiple black nominees would win an Oscar, when Prince and ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Plot

A young man,

Cruz Salmerón Acosta Cruz María Salmerón Acosta (Born January 3, 1892, in Manicuare, Venezuela – 30 July 1929 in Manicuare) was a Venezuelan poet. His sonnets were influenced by the movement of modernismo. Received his early education in the home of Pet ...

, from the impoverished village of Manicaure, Araya, rejects the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez. Despite fighting for his ideals, he achieves nothing, returning to Manicaure with few opportunities. He ultimately dies alone of leprosy.

Cast

Franklin Vírgüez Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral divi ...

as Cruz Elías Salmerón Acosta *

Doris Wells Doris Wells (born Doris María Buonafina; 28 October 1943 – 20 September 1988) was a Venezuelan actress, writer and producer. Her best-known television appearances were in ''Campeones'', ''La trepadora'', ''La Hora'', ''Historia de tres herman ...

as Asunción León Costa *

Hilda Vera Hilda is one of several female given names derived from the name ''Hild'', formed from Old Norse , meaning 'battle'. Hild, a Nordic-German Bellona, was a Valkyrie who conveyed fallen warriors to Valhalla. Warfare was often called Hild's Game. Th ...

as Cruz' mother *

Alicia Plaza Alicia Plaza Tariffi, born April 30, 1957 in Caracas, Venezuela, is a Venezuelan actress. She has worked in various telenovelas, and most recently she has participated in various productions in Miami, Florida.(4 June 2007)CHAVEZ'S TV CRACKDOWN RA ...

as Consuelo *

Elba Escobar Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National ...

as Ana Dolores Ramos

Production

The film was scored by Juan Carlos Núñez, and includes a cameo by film critic Rodolfo Izaguirre playing a priest. It was one of the first films to receive funding from FONCINE.

Analysis

At the ''Sofía en el cine'' film website, the film is said to go against traditional modern (particularly American) movie narratives which typically show that destiny is both achievable and aligns with the desires and ideals of the hero. To defy expectations, the film shows Cruz' failure to achieve what he really wants. ''Sofía en el cine'' also suggests that the film frames this to suggest that the individual can be brought down by their environment, that misery of nation creates misery of its people even as they try to escape it. The name of the film is analyzed by Alexis Correia, examining the symbolism through the film that the idea of a house of water relates to; Correia proposes that first, it refers to being in the womb, then a life of false appearances, and then the house where Cruz dies alone. Correia also suggests that water, as vital to life, is not present in the 'house' of Manicaure, which is experiencing drought.

Response

Alexis Correia looks at the characterization of Cruz, suggesting it is mostly enabled by the dialogue written by Tomás Eloy Martínez and actor Franklin Vírgüez' "timeless" appearance; in the film, Cruz cares more about ideals than his art or youthfulness, which Correia believes is captured by the actor and multiple memorable lines. Correia also praises the cinematography, some of which he compares to Eisenstein.

References

External links

* *
The House of Water
' at

Cine Mestizo Cine Mestizo is a subscription streaming service focused on Venezuelan films. History The film Once Upon a Time in Venezuela was available on the platform during its nomination for the Academy Awards. Cine Mestizo was among the platforms tha ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:House Of Water 1983 films 1983 drama films 1980s Spanish-language films Venezuelan drama films