I just watched El Crimen del Padre Amaro for the first time, and I was wondering what people thought about the significance of Getsemani's character. She doesn't really have much to do with the story, but her condition makes her presence very powerful and seemingly important. Any ideas about what she was supposed to bring to the film?
shareWell, personally, I got the impression that although she was unable to really communicate in any clear fashion, she actually had some consciousness--you could tell she knew what was going on in the next room with Amelia and Amaro despite the fact that people dismissed her as just some retarded girl (i.e. Padre Benito).
And while this may sound crude, I think she served a purpose for the film's black comedy aspects (of which there are many)--it was clear that all the women in the town were taken with the new priest, and then even Getsemani grabs his hand and won't let go. I thought, "even the retarded girl thinks he's hot!"
"I guess I started smoking when I was about...four."
It's a question the director can cast light on, but I agree that her function in the movie is a little vague, and perhaps some scenes ended up on the cutting room floor that could have cleared all this up.
I do agree with other sentiments already expressed that her character was more of a 'plot device' than anything else, meaning that she was never intended to play a significant role, but it gave the convenient excuse for Padre Amaro to use the next room for his trysts with Amelia. It was also useful in portraying Padre Amaro's cruelty when evicting Martin - not sparing a thought about what would happen to Getsemani. Still, I suspect there should be more to it, and perhaps the movie comes up a little bit short in this regard.
I haven't read the book either, so perhaps there is a link there.
I got the impression that Father Benito had abused Getsemani at some point, or possibly was still doing so. As he is confessing to Padre Amaro, he says that he has laid with a child who was a virgin. It could be that he was confronting Amaro for his own sins and trying to get him to confess, but I got the feeling there was more to it than a simple plot device. Could be way off though.
shareYou could be very right. Never thought of this. This makes a fair amount of sense, cheers!
shareI think Getsemani represents the purity and innocence in contrast with the corrupted Father Amaro.
a little off-topic: but did anyone else recall the mute old woman from deepa mehta's "fire" with the character of getsemani?
shareYes she does. In the book her character is Toto. Father Amaro was trying to help Toto. He can't get through to her. He asks Amelia to help him with Toto, also with the intention of sleeping with Amelia. Toto starts to care about her appearance and her father has never seen her like that before. When Amelia starts to come around to help with religious education Toto takes an instant dislike to Amelia. When Canon Dias(Father Benito) comes to see how Toto is doing she tells him about the dogs and the animal sounds she hears. Canon Dias puts two and two together and then confronts Amaro.
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