Madeinusa and Andean Culture

Madeinusa and Andean Culture

First time writer/director Claudia Lllosa brings the Peruvian highland to life in her 2006 film, Madeinusa. The story deals with events surrounding “holy time” in the Manayaycuna village, a weekend-long festival where the figure of Christ is taken down from the cross, blindfolded, and the law suspended, initiating a time of no sin. It is right before the festivities begin that Salvador, a young outsider from Lima, is left at the town because a flooded road prevents his further passing. He encounters a young Madeinusa, daughter of the town mayor and festival Virgin. She and the outsider elope, much to her father’s anguish who wished to deflower his daughter on the eve of the event. The majority of the film takes place during the festival and the audience is exposed to the vibrant and traditional   Peruvian culture. To describe the film’s style, I will be exploring how the characters are developed,   how setting is established, and the culture is portrayed.
The characters are brought to life in Madeinusa by drawing the audience’s attention to their faces and by extended close-ups of certain actions. For example, the film opens with an extreme close-up of Madeinusa washing vegetables. In a slow pan, the screen is consumed by her shoulder, her elegant but dirty collar, her thick, black, braided hair. The extreme close-up continues, as she sings a folkloric song, in her native language, Quechua. But now, the camera holds on her actions: the slow scrubbing of the vegetables, the drying of her muddy and labored hands. Choosing to display the parts representative of the whole, Llosa is able to capture characteristic elements of Madeinusa. Her clothing highlights her impoverished condition, her work reflects her sense of duty, and her singing conveys a certain daintiness. We get   a close look at each main character particularly when they are the center of action in the scene,   framed almost exclusively in close-ups and medium close-ups. This is not the case when...