“When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: 'Whose?'”
Don Marquis
Esteban (Jeremy Irons) tells Rosa's parents that he plans to work hard every day in order to earn money, so he can be rich enough to marry their daughter. True to his word, he works hard in a diamond mine until he strikes a lode. Two years later he returns with the money he earned from his diamonds, to find his true love has died. He takes the money and buys a ranch (Tres Marias) where he tells the peasants who live there that he will take care of them if they work hard. "We have nowhere else to go" he is told by one of the workers, Pedro "Segundo". Through the exploitation of those who work his farm, he becomes an extremely rich and powerful man and eventually marries Rosa's silent, clairvoyant (and aptly named) sister, Clara (Meryl Streep). Their daughter (Blanca, played by Our Winona) falls in love with Pedro "Tercero" (Antonio Banderas), the son of "Segundo" one of Esteban's most loyal workers.
However loyal his father is, however, Pedro Tercero is quite undesirable to Esteban, not only for his status as a farm worker, but also because he is an instigator of union activity on the ranch - telling the other workers that they have a right to decent pay, shorter hours, and Sundays off. He becomes so much a target of Esteban's wrath that his life is endangered, especially after Blanca becomes pregnant.
Although ultimately a story of redemption, this film is hardly a "feel good" movie. Set in an unnamed South American country (Chile) during a military dictatorship Our Winona shows a true range of emotion, and portrays a character of strength and bravery throughout.
James adds: As a geographer, I find this film to be not only a compelling family story, but also an illustration of destructive dynamics that have been all too common in Latin America. As patron of the titular hacienda, Esteban really believes that he earns his wealth and status through his own effort. He further believes that his laborers benefit from their association with him.
He is a local strongman who supports an increasingly conservative regime at the national regime, which in turn maintains the social order that concentrates land -- and power -- in the hands of a very few. The pattern known as minifundio / latifundio originated with colonial-era land grants, and continue to persist in many countries of the region. By restricting access to land, the system binds workers to a single local employer. Small favors from the patron may help to reinforce loyalty, but eventually resentment may lead to resistance.
To protect their privileged status -- and in their own minds, for the good of society as a whole -- from resistance movements, latifundistas such as Esteban would form alliances with conservative regimes. Where these regimes have been threatened by broad social movements, military leaders have often -- as they did in Allende's Chile -- stepped in to "restore order." As Esteban learns in this story, totalitarian regimes are not reliable allies.
In Chile -- which Allende could not name in the original novel -- the displacement of the elected government by the military regime of Augusto Pinochet played out a bit differently than in her novel. The United States orchestrated the assassination of President Salvador Allende (the novelist's cousin) on September 11, 1973, because resistance movements in the region were seen as communist. Pinochet still ruled Chile when she wrote the novel from exile in Venezuela.
Final verdict: Four croquet balls
Esteban (Jeremy Irons) tells Rosa's parents that he plans to work hard every day in order to earn money, so he can be rich enough to marry their daughter. True to his word, he works hard in a diamond mine until he strikes a lode. Two years later he returns with the money he earned from his diamonds, to find his true love has died. He takes the money and buys a ranch (Tres Marias) where he tells the peasants who live there that he will take care of them if they work hard. "We have nowhere else to go" he is told by one of the workers, Pedro "Segundo". Through the exploitation of those who work his farm, he becomes an extremely rich and powerful man and eventually marries Rosa's silent, clairvoyant (and aptly named) sister, Clara (Meryl Streep). Their daughter (Blanca, played by Our Winona) falls in love with Pedro "Tercero" (Antonio Banderas), the son of "Segundo" one of Esteban's most loyal workers.
However loyal his father is, however, Pedro Tercero is quite undesirable to Esteban, not only for his status as a farm worker, but also because he is an instigator of union activity on the ranch - telling the other workers that they have a right to decent pay, shorter hours, and Sundays off. He becomes so much a target of Esteban's wrath that his life is endangered, especially after Blanca becomes pregnant.
Although ultimately a story of redemption, this film is hardly a "feel good" movie. Set in an unnamed South American country (Chile) during a military dictatorship Our Winona shows a true range of emotion, and portrays a character of strength and bravery throughout.
James adds: As a geographer, I find this film to be not only a compelling family story, but also an illustration of destructive dynamics that have been all too common in Latin America. As patron of the titular hacienda, Esteban really believes that he earns his wealth and status through his own effort. He further believes that his laborers benefit from their association with him.
To protect their privileged status -- and in their own minds, for the good of society as a whole -- from resistance movements, latifundistas such as Esteban would form alliances with conservative regimes. Where these regimes have been threatened by broad social movements, military leaders have often -- as they did in Allende's Chile -- stepped in to "restore order." As Esteban learns in this story, totalitarian regimes are not reliable allies.
In Chile -- which Allende could not name in the original novel -- the displacement of the elected government by the military regime of Augusto Pinochet played out a bit differently than in her novel. The United States orchestrated the assassination of President Salvador Allende (the novelist's cousin) on September 11, 1973, because resistance movements in the region were seen as communist. Pinochet still ruled Chile when she wrote the novel from exile in Venezuela.
Final verdict: Four croquet balls
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