Compassionate Sex

Colour, 35mm
Spain, Mexico, 2000, 105 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

The inhabitants of a sleepy Mexican village are far from leading a satisfied existence. Every couple argues and the children, in contrast, refuse to communicate at all. The priest is depressed and unable to help his flock. Only Dolores does good deeds and has a smile, a gentle touch and understanding for everyone. But when she finds out that her husband has left her for being too good she decides to drastically change her life – she sleeps with the first man who asks her. Since her husband left her for being so pure and faithful maybe he’ll come back after finding out what she’s done. But what was originally meant to be a sin turns out to be just another good deed in disguise because it ends up saving the man’s life. Dolores decides to “save” the other men of the village too, seeing that they seem to need her help. Very soon there’s a long line of men from villages far and wide standing in line in front of Dolores’ door. It seems as if having sex with Dolores has miraculous powers. . . .

About the director

Laura Mańá (b. 1968, Barcelona) studied tourism and theatre at the same time. Since 1990 she has acted in a number of movies including Bigas Luna’s The Tit and the Moon (La teta y la luna, 1994,) which is also being screened at this year’s Karlovy Vary IFF. Maná is also the author of several short stories. Her directing debut came with the short film Paraules. Compassionate Sex, for which she also wrote the script, is Maná’s first feature film.