One of the most ignored quotes but most important quotes in
Las Malas Intentiones is “dos soles no pueden brillar juntos en un mismo cielo”
by Simón Bolivar. It rings true to a lot of concepts in the film. When the
quote is first said, we hear it in the classroom when Simón Bolivar and José San
Martin for the independence of Peru. Both leaders wanted to rule the country,
but two strong powers cannot rule under one. It would be too chaotic.
This quote
has another historical context in the film between the government and El
Sendero Luminoso. The government controlled Peru under a democratic rule, while
El Sendereo Luminoso favored communism. There was a split between the country,
and would be considered los dos soles. However, the citizens (aka el cielo)
were all in fear of the human rights abuses from both political spectrums. Dos
soles cannot control el cielo. Un sol will only want to shine brighter than the
other, especially in socio-political differences.
Another
concept is between Cayetana and her brother. Because, Cayetana believes that
she will die when her brother is born, I believe that Cayetana has a selfish
personality. She feels like because of her asthma and anxiety, her parents see
it as a weakness. Therefore, she believes that she won’t be able to compete
with her brother for her parents’ attention when he is born. It comes off as
very selfish to me, but then again, this idea goes back to the quote. The
children are los soles and Cayetana holds on to this quote after her professor
says it, because she thinks that it rings true to her. To me, that is absurd
for her to think that both suns cannot shine in her parents’ sky. However, throughout
the film between Cayetana and her mother, I began to understand why she might
think that this quote was speaking to her.
I thought
about this quote for a long time after watching it over and over. I was trying
to figure out why Rosario García-Montero stressed an importance on that quote.
Was it supposed to be funny to the fact that Cayetana was already having strange
thoughts about death? Was it a connection to politics? Or was it simply a quote
that she enjoyed before the film and had to include it? I believe that she
stressed this quote because it can be used in so many situations of society. It
could be about someone in power, rich vs. poor, or even sibling rivalry. There
will always be an enemy and people will always try to outshine one another. But
only one can shine in el cielo.
Hyperlinks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCTbW4h8HGk
No comments:
Post a Comment