Fausta has a fear of rape because her mother did but as time progressed in Lima, the exploitation became a more oppressive and fearful action as Fausta was robbed of her music by the person she worked for as a maid. The film also introduces a visual concept of a potato growing in Fausta’s vagina. This could symbolize how rape roots in one’s mind as the potato rooted in her genital orifice.
When she finally agrees to remove the potato, it represents her ability to overcome her fears and begin to start a new life.
The scene where it shows the mass weddings with all the couples in a sense devalues the sacredness of marriage—it portrays it just as something everyone must do. One of the marriage customs where Fausta’s cousin peels the potato to prove her worth to her future husband and his family shows how women are put on a pedestal and valued superficially.
The cinematography has a neorealist feel.
The opening scene of the movie is a perfect representation of the oral tradition of singing and remembering of the history of the indigenous people. The mother of Fausta sings a song about what happened to her during the time of the war.
The scene in which Fausta and the gardener, Noé, are in the garden talking about caring for plants, and the final scene of the film in which Fausta receives a blooming plant are connected in that they show Fausta’s growth. Plants are a symbol of growth and life, and these two scenes emphasize that idea.
After Fausta was practically obligated to “sell” her voice to Aida, and robbed of something so meaningful like oral history, Aida threw her out of the car and did not even pay her. This is colonization in a nutshell. The Spaniards came to Latin America, stole the gold and natural resources, and after they were done stealing they to this day mock and disrespect indigenous societies and their culture.
The use of the wardrobe for Fuasta is green, very subtle, and very earthy. She mixes well with the green scenery behind her while her boss is in the center of the shot. …. This can refer back to the idea that indigenous Latin Americans continue to be invisible to the white elite in Lima.
Early on in the movie, she is rarely depicted in full view. Parts of her face or figure are often obfuscated by either the edges of the frame, notable most distinctly as she pays with her mother’s hair and we see only her hands or her torso. As the movie progresses, however, we begin to see full shots of Fausta, unobstructed. Allegorically, not only is this a progression from a fractured and stilted individual to a more emotionally free whole being, but it represents an acceptance, as opposed to a covering up of the horrors of Peru’s past. Too terrible to show onscreen, it is the survivors and their families who truly bear the burden, along with the whole of Peru.
When her uncle and her are on the bus, a very public space, she begins to explain why she used a potato. Her mother told her that during times of terror, a neighbor did the same so no one can violate/rape her. These women are in constant fear of being dehumanized and raped. Having her explain this thinking to her uncle on a crowded bus signifies how much of marginalized women’s pain is constantly on display.
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