The Milk of Sorrow

Colour, 35 mm
Peru, Spain, 2008, 94 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

Fausta suffers from a syndrome she contracted from her mother’s milk. It concerns a psychological illness suffered by children born to women who were raped in Peru during the horrific years of war in the 1970s. The war is long over but it has deprived Fausta of her childhood and her soul. While living, her mother nourished her with memories and sad songs, but her sudden death forces Fausta to come to grips with the fear she was weaned on. Moreover, she must resolve a secret of her own: because of her continuing fear of being raped, she protects the sanctity of her body by inserting a potato into her vagina... "I only ask of God that He allows me to forget everything” – this phrase, spoken by women struggling with the same fate that Fausta’s mother suffered, was often heard by the film’s lead actress, Magaly Solier. Perhaps the desperation and anger that seized her while listening to the victims contributed to her wonderful performance, and her role as Fausta confirms that she and the director have matured artistically during the four years which have passed since their Madeinusa debut.

About the director

Claudia Llosa (b. 1976, Lima) studied communications at the Universidad de Lima and screenwriting in Madrid, then began her film career shooting commercials and working in television. In 2004 she shot her first short, Seeing Martina. Her feature debut, Madeinusa (2005), about a 14-year-old Indian girl living in an isolated Peruvian mountain village, earned Llosa more than 20 international festival awards. In addition to screenings at Sundance and Rotterdam, where Llosa took the FIPRESCI Prize, the film was shown at the 2006 Karlovy Vary IFF. The film’s star, Magaly Solier, won Best Actress at Montreal and the director opted to cast her in her second film The Milk of Sorrow.