The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 11, 1988-- Page 9
Vera
portrays the trap
of gender stereotypes
BY MARK SHAIMAN
Ana Beatriz Nogueria deservedly
won the Best Female Actor Award at
the 1987 Berlin Film Festival for her
portrayal of the title character in
Vera. When the film began, I
couldn't tell if Vera was male or fe-
male, and even once the answer be-
came known, I still questioned it in
my mind. But this is because Vera
herself constantly questions her
sexuality, and because Nogueria is
able to outwardly convey this inner
frustration so well.
Vera, who prefers to be addressed
by the more masculine name of
Bauer, longs to be a man.
Writer/director Sergio Toledo ex-
plores both sides of Vera's personal-
ity by following her struggles to
peacefully coexist in society and in-
terspersing this with flashbacks of
her life at the all-female orphan-
age/reform school that she had re-
cently left, upon turning 18.
This is Toledo's debut as a direc-
tor, but his previous work shows
that he is capable of, and experienced
with, handling such a delicate sub-
ject. Toledo was assistant director to
H=ector Babenco on the critically ac-
claimed filmThe Kiss of the Spider-
woman, which dealt with male ho-
mosexuality in a Brazilian
prison.Vera, too, takes place in
Brazil, and like Kiss, the theme tran-
scends any nation's borders.
In fact, the opening scene is a
distant view of an American rocket'
launch, with familiar-sounding
(Vera's) clothing is only a
representative problem,
used as a metaphor for the
amount of importance
placed on appearances and
nct on the true self.
der and sexual preference.
The rest of the film continues to
support and strengthen this
metaphor. In the orphanage for girls,
there is a definite schism between the
inhabitants and the workers. The
girls band together so that they can
face the oppression of the male em-
ployees who need to show their au-
thority in self-serving ways, such as
not allowing the girls to wear pants.
When the girls take a stand against
this, they're punished with solitary
confinement.
Outside the orphanage, Bauer is
confronted with the even more diffi-
cult problem of dealing with such
situations by herself. At her new job,
her co-workers are already disturbed
by her lack of discretion, so when
she shows up at her job in a men's
suit - outdressing her male co-
workers - all the co-workers call for
her dismissal.
But her clothing is only a
representative problem, used as a
metaphor for the amount of impor-
tance placed on appearances and not
on the true self. Even Bauer has
fallen into this trap. Until her lover
accuses her of being too much like a
stereotypical male who needs to
dominate a relationship, she doesn't
realize the facade that she has
adopted.
Bauer needs to find some kind of
balance to her life, again creating an-
other metaphor between this character
and the rest of the world. Unfortu-
nately, this film holds the view that
k
t
4
NASA voices streaming through the
sound of the engines. This has no
direct relationship to the plot, but
instead it is a truly effective
metaphor for the world we all share.
In a time when some thoughts are
futuristic enough to put people in
space, other thoughts are backwards
enough to put people in separate-and-
not-equal categories due to their gen-
Ana Beatriz Nogueria portrays a lesbian woman who battles confusion over her sexual role,
both on her own part and society's, in Sergio Toledo's Vera.
the world is not ready to be unified.
But films likeVera may help to pro-
vide the understanding that is the
necessary first step toward changing
the world.
The Ann Arbor Film Cooperative
presents VERA tonight at 7 and 8:45
p.m. at MLB Auditorium 4. Tickets
are $250.
----'
\ ..
-.-
Let Them Know
How You Feel ! I
DAILY PERSONALS 764-0557'
SPECIAL SPRING BREAK TRIP
SPRING TERM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
NEW ENGLAND
LITERATURE PROGRAM
Earn credit as you study
Thoreau, Emerson, Frost,
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Cancun $589.00 per person
Feb. 25- Mar. 4, 1988
$75.00 will hold your reservation. Includes
round-trip air, 7 nights in a beach hotel, close
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Call Now! Space Limited!
Shouting out with Glee...
The University Glee Club (in the spiffy suits above) will
present its 12th annual fall concert Saturday at 8 p.m 'at
Hill Auditorium. Tickets are on sale at the Hill box office.
MASS MEETING & SLIDE SHOW
Tuesday, November 15, 8:00 pm
AUD. C, ANGELL HALL
For Further Information, Call 662-9895 between 7&8 pm.
663-3434
475 Market Place
HORIZONS
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You must have a BA/BS degree, be no more than 28
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Program at: 1-800-922-1703
LOCATION:
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WEDNESDAY,
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