A life that’s no bouquet of ‘Violetas’

Maryse Sistach’s “Perfume de Violetas” is yet another of the powerful, sharply observant films that have been revitalizing the Mexican cinema in recent years. What’s special about it is that it is a picture made by a woman, and what it reveals about contemporary society from a woman’s perspective is no less devastating than what was explored so corrosively in such films as “Amores Perros.” “Perfume” was Mexico’s official entry into the 2002 Academy Awards, and the time it has taken for it to receive a U.S. release is a reflection on the vagaries of distribution and not on the quality of this extraordinary film.

Yessica (Ximena Ayala) is a slightly chunky girl of 13 or 14 who in a few years could blossom into a beauty. Meanwhile, she has been expelled from one Mexico City school and transferred to another for having slapped the principal. She is sullen and moody but also bright and capable of moments of joy, which says a lot for the resilience of her spirit because her poverty-stricken home life is unspeakably hellish. Her dim mother (Maria Rojo) is in the thrall of Yessica’s crude stepfather, which in turn leaves Yessica at the mercy of her ruthlessly exploitative stepbrother (Luis Fernando Pena).

It’s no wonder that Yessica is elated at actually being able to strike up a friendship with a classmate, the demure and kindly Miriam (Nancy Gutierrez). Miriam lives with her single mother (Arcelia Ramirez), a beautiful and chic woman who works hard as a shoe saleswoman to afford a small but attractive apartment, which strikes Yessica as a veritable paradise on earth.

As the girls’ friendship blossoms Yessica increasingly sees Miriam and her apartment as an oasis, especially as her family situation deteriorates dramatically. Unfortunately, virtually everyone is unaware of Yessica’s ever-worsening plight. They see Yessica as her own worst enemy without understanding why she is behaving the way she is. It’s not for nothing that Sistach, who wrote her screenplay with her producer husband, Jose Buil, subtitled her film “Nobody Is Listening.”

At the heart of the film is Sistach’s depiction of ways in which the culture of machismo has crippled women as well as men. The women in Yessica’s life are conditioned to judge other women by their behavior. They are quick to label those who don’t measure up as sluts and whores, and they reflexively believe rape victims “asked for it.” It is chilling to watch Miriam’s mother try to pound these shortsighted views into her daughter, and sad to see how Yessica, in her spiraling desperation, reinforces them.

“Perfume de Violetas” is very strong stuff, and Sistach has inspired such young actors as Ayala and Gutierrez to give sustained and harrowing portrayals. “Perfume de Violetas” is the second in a series of Spanish-language films that a new organization, Viva Tu Cine!, is hoping to release monthly.

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‘Perfume de Violetas’

MPAA rating: Unrated

Times guidelines: Violence, adult themes

Ximena Ayala...Yessica

Nancy Gutierrez...Miriam

Arcelia Ramirez...Miriam’s mother

Luis Fernando Pena...Yessica’s stepbrother

Maria Rojo...Yessica’s mother

A Viva Tu Cine!/Casa Nova Films release of a co-production of IMCINE, FOPROCINE, Producciones Tragaluz, Palmera Films, CCC, Filmoteca de la UNAM. Director Maryse Sistach. Producer Jose Buil. Screenplay Jose Buil and Maryse Sistach. Cinematographer Servando Gaja. Editor Jose Buil, Humberto Hernandez. Music Annette Fradera. Art director Guadalupe Sanchez. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

At selected theaters.