📖 Innocent Erendira and Other Stories

Erendira is a dark fairy tale covered in the blanket of magic realism that has become Gabriel Garcia Marquez's trademark. The story itself unfolds like a bizarre daydream that follows a 14 year old Erendira as she is plagued by the "wind of her misfortune." It is this wind that causes Erendira to burn down her grandmother's lavish villa. Upon seeing the ruin and ashes the Grandmother informs Erendira that "it would take a lifetime to back the debt you owe me." And so begins the young girl's life of prostitution. In order to earn back her money, the Grandmother sells Erendira to countless men, day and night. It is only when Erendira meets angelic Ulysses that her tortured life seemingly begins to change. Perhaps the most brilliant aspect of this movie is the role of the Grandmother. She is continually seated upon a throne-like chair, is incredibly fat and gaudy and devours cake by the handful; all while dispensing cryptic advice to Erendira. The power that the Grandmother has over the...