Chapter 13
What the Images Cannot Show: The Letters in Montxo Armendáriz’s Letters from Alou (1990)
María Lourdes Casas
In the nineteen eighties, Spaniards started to notice the increased numbers of immigrant workers who came from Africa to the streets of Madrid and Barcelona. While some of these workers were first perceived with mild exoticism and curiosity, or even conservative paternalism (referred to as los negritos, “the little Blacks”), soon these perceptions shifted to contempt, stereotyping, blatant discrimination, and racism. Spanish movies began addressing the social implications of the immigrant experience and its impact on the social fabric of Spain. Since that time, a growing number of films have dramatized the migration of Africans (and later Latin Americans) to Spain and have problematized the act of crossing borders, not only as a geographical and physical process, but also a cultural, social and identity-shaping process. Foremost among these is Las cartas de Alou (Letters from Alou), written and directed by Montxo Armendáriz in 1990, the first immigration-themed film made in Spain by a Spanish director.
Las cartas de Alou focuses on the four eponymous letters written by the main character. While crossing borders across different territories and societies, these letters also cross generic borders between cinematographic and written texts. This chapter focuses on the director’s use of the letters as narrative vehicles: first as a means of delivering messages or meanings that images can not convey; and second, as an illustration of the complex, and often fraught, relationship between native and immigrant cultures. The connection—or disconnection—of the letters’ content and the accompanying images is essential to the politics of the film.
Films discussed in Chapter 13:
Bwana. Directed by Imanol Uribe. Spain, 1996.
El techo del mundo. Directed by Felipe Vega. Spain, 1995.
Europlex. Directed by Ursula Biemann and Angela Sander, 2003.
Extranjeras. Directed by Helena Taberna. Spain, 2003.
Flores de otro mundo. Directed by Iciar Bollaín. Spain, 1999.
Las cartas de Alou. Directed by Montxo Armendáriz. Spain, 1990.
Pobladores. Directed by Manuel García Serrano. Spain, 2006.
Poniente. Directed by Chus Gutiérrez. Spain, 2002.
Salvajes. Directed by Carlos Molinero. Spain, 2001.
Si nos dejan. Directed by Ana Torres. Spain, 2005.
Tomando té. Directed by Isabel Gardela. Spain, 2000.
Las cartas de Alou focuses on the four eponymous letters written by the main character. While crossing borders across different territories and societies, these letters also cross generic borders between cinematographic and written texts. This chapter focuses on the director’s use of the letters as narrative vehicles: first as a means of delivering messages or meanings that images can not convey; and second, as an illustration of the complex, and often fraught, relationship between native and immigrant cultures. The connection—or disconnection—of the letters’ content and the accompanying images is essential to the politics of the film.
Films discussed in Chapter 13:
Bwana. Directed by Imanol Uribe. Spain, 1996.
El techo del mundo. Directed by Felipe Vega. Spain, 1995.
Europlex. Directed by Ursula Biemann and Angela Sander, 2003.
Extranjeras. Directed by Helena Taberna. Spain, 2003.
Flores de otro mundo. Directed by Iciar Bollaín. Spain, 1999.
Las cartas de Alou. Directed by Montxo Armendáriz. Spain, 1990.
Pobladores. Directed by Manuel García Serrano. Spain, 2006.
Poniente. Directed by Chus Gutiérrez. Spain, 2002.
Salvajes. Directed by Carlos Molinero. Spain, 2001.
Si nos dejan. Directed by Ana Torres. Spain, 2005.
Tomando té. Directed by Isabel Gardela. Spain, 2000.
A clip from the film Letters from Alou - in Spanish only. (Source: YouTube)
About the author:
María Lourdes Casas received her MA and Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently she is an Associate Professor at Central Connecticut State University where she teaches Spanish Language, Literature and Culture. She specializes in XIX-XX Spanish Literature and Culture. Her main research focuses on short novel collections in Spain from 1900-1936. She is also interested in Spanish Contemporary Cinema. She has published articles dealing with mass readership and the female characterizations in these collections. She is currently working in a book length project about one of these collections, La Novela Mundial. She is also co-author of several Spanish textbooks.
María Lourdes Casas received her MA and Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently she is an Associate Professor at Central Connecticut State University where she teaches Spanish Language, Literature and Culture. She specializes in XIX-XX Spanish Literature and Culture. Her main research focuses on short novel collections in Spain from 1900-1936. She is also interested in Spanish Contemporary Cinema. She has published articles dealing with mass readership and the female characterizations in these collections. She is currently working in a book length project about one of these collections, La Novela Mundial. She is also co-author of several Spanish textbooks.