Console
best movie i've ever seen.
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Brainsbell
The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.
mcarman-83803
La teta asustada is a film which, even weeks after seeing it, for which I still find it hard to fully process and analyse. Overall it was an incredibly compelling and rich film, though I felt at times it lost its way. Perhaps that was the point.The film begins abruptly with a story of sexual violence and atrocious violations of a woman's rights. This would be jarring enough on its own, but the movie presents the story through the song of an aging, dying woman, who lies in her death bed. This opening sets up the rest of the movie, a trance-like journey through the hate-filled, violence-filled, discrimination-filled life of Fausta, a poor indigenous woman of Perú, who's soul has been crushed by the boot of an oppressive past. From one scene to the next the viewer slowly comes to know Fausta, piece by piece. However, like the pearl necklace that Fausta tries to earn with her voice, the picture is never truly completed. I can't say that I liked or enjoyed this movie. I really didn't. It was incredibly painful to sit through, and I found myself disgusted and angry at everyone in it. But that is the point. The film is meant to paint a picture of the harsh reality of a society who for centuries upon centuries has been ruled by violence. Everyone in Fausta's life seems to take advantage of her. From her uncle to her employer, to the doctor supposedly sworn to heal, Fausta is abused, used, and forgotten. The film is a harsh, but accurate depiction of the worst side of humanity, and while it's hard to look at, it is necessary. Watching the film should remind the viewer that we as a species have a great potential for harm, and that this potential is so easily realised. The movie shows us that doing evil is easy. It's the easiest thing in the world. The hard thing is being good. And most of the time, we fail at it. Most of the time, evil is where we end up.
Abby Sawyer
La teta asustada (or Milk of Sorrow) tells the story of Fausta, a young woman who suffers from the indigenous sickness of being condemned to live in fear forever. Terrorists raped her mother while she was pregnant and imparted her fear to Fausta through her breast milk. The strange awkwardness of the story is uncomfortable at times, but the audience slowly adjusts. This is the famous magical realism that Latin America is known for: the mixing of reality and fantasy in such a way that the impossible starts to seem more and more normal and possible. Having lived and studied in Lima for ten months, although it doesn't make me an expert, I found the film to be an accurate portrayal of life in the impoverished suburbs of the capital city. Mostly indigenous people fleeing from the mountains where terrorism was threatening them settled these dusty settlements on the outskirts of Lima in the 80s and 90s. In these communities indigenous traditions are still practiced and cherished to this day, but as portrayed in the movie there is also the clash of cultures as the people struggle to integrate into the life of the big city of Lima. I enjoyed this movie because it reminded me of all things Peruvian: the scenery, the struggles, the mix of indigenous and modern cultures and the ever important role of the potato.
sl-pierce
Claudia Llosa writes a peculiar, but captivating story of a young Peruvian girl living in a constant world of fear on the outskirts of Lima. Fausta is believed to be suffering from a rare disease, "La teta asustada," or the "Milk of Sorrow," which was transmitted from her mother's breast milk after she was raped by terrorists during the time of Sendero Luminoso. Facing her mother's death, Fausta is forced to overcome her fear and work in the Big House of a limeña musician. While both the music and filming are stunning, I feel that the film lacks much action or thick plot. I found it to be more of a journey, one that led Fausta from her fear to a glimpse of her freedom. Furthermore, as a viewer who has lived in Peru, the film was very nostalgic for me and I felt that it portrayed Lima and the "pueblos" with a profound sincerity. If you are looking for a poetic and beautiful journey of a story, this film is exactly that.
gregking4
Claudia Llosa's drama The Milk Of Sorrow is an award winning film that has toured the festival circuit and was also Peru's entry for the 2010 Foreign Language Oscar. The central character here is Fausta (played by Magaly Solier), who has grown up hearing her mother's horror stories about rape and the atrocities committed curing the violent 1980's in her native Peru. Traumatised and sexually repressed, she plants a potato in her vagina, which is meant to ward off potential rapists. Fausta has been suckled on "the milk of sorrow", which basically means that the horrors endured by her mother whilst Fausta was in the womb have been transmitted on to her through breast milk. When her mother dies, Fausta has to try and raise some money in order to transport the body back to her home village and pay for the funeral. She lands a job as a maid to the imperious and emotionally stolid Mrs Aida (Susi Sanchez), a singer preparing for a concert. The dark and eerie home on the outskirts of the city is symbolic of Mrs Aida's own sterile and empty life. When the woman hears the shy Fausta sing, she offers her pearls from one of her necklaces in exchange for the occasional song. Fausta also strikes up a friendship with the gardener Noe (Efrain Solis), who shares his passion for flowers with her. The garden is a metaphor for growth and freedom, and becomes hugely symbolic as Fausta slowly begins to reconnect with the world and discovers that even the most withdrawn and traumatised of women can flourish. The Milk Of Sorrow is the second film from director Llosa, and she handles the material with restraint. Llosa draws a strong and surprising contrast between the humour and beauty of life in the slums and the fear and isolation that permeate life in the city. The film also offers some insights into the culture, traditions and superstitions of village life in contemporary Peru. Peru's recent history of violence, particularly under the Shining Path, and war inform this contemporary drama, and the events of the past cast a muted shadow over the events. Even though these horrors are a distant memory for most they still resonate strongly for many of the characters here. Solier, who also appeared in the director's first film Madeinusa, gives an understated performance as Fausta. Natasha Baiers' cinematography is beautiful, and Selma Mutais' haunting music score enriches the film. However, the film is languidly paced, and its slow pace means that many in the audience will fail to connect emotionally with Fausta's journey. It is easy for audiences to somehow remain detached from the whole thing.
