The Black Widow, an erotic small-town depiction, may be a slightly different and “smaller” film than the best-known works of Arturo Ripstein’s massive output, but it is a very entertaining watch for, say, a sensual Lapland night. Although the maestro did NOT work as Luis Buñuel’s assistant director in his youth – as the presumption, born of a misunderstanding as Ripstein says, still persists – The Black Widow, made in the year of That Obscure Object of Desire, is often reminiscent of Buñuel, an irrepressibly charming provocation of the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie.
The film could be mistakenly accused of so-called exploitation, but a closer analysis of the content allows us to see deeper. In Mexico, The Black Widow proved to hit the mark: the censors were scared into banning the film for five years. When the film was cleared, it was honoured with five local Jussis, the Ariel nominations.
Isela Vega, who plays the title role in The Black Widow, won the Ariel for Best Actress. Vega, who gives a totally unabashed performance, plays Matea, an orphan who grows up to be Father Feliciano’s (Mario Almada) maid in the parish. When Matea rejects the powerful village doctor trying to seduce her, all hell is ready to break loose, but Matea and Feliciano are able to find love and resistance.
Ripstein has infused this combination of innocence, carnality, and melodrama with an intensity approaching the worlds of traditional B movies, from the style of acting to the use of colour, in just the right proportions.
Timo Malmi