A mean young woman (Ana Belén) from a wealthy family, with stiiff-upper-lip parents (Eduardo Calvo, Mayrata O'Wisiedo) , but unsatisfied with her social position. She has flirtations with the housekeeper's (Maria Luisa Ponte) son, Miguel (Emilio Gutiérrez Caba), and a mute servant (Frédéric de Pasquale) . But she will not hesitate to use all that is within her reach to achieve her ascent in society.
This is a slow-paced , deliberate though enjoyable costumer drama . It is a riveting film though a little dull . Drama with historical background and romantic elements ; adding culture and upper-class studio , including enjoyable performances , colorful cinematography by
Hans Burmann, evocative music by Román Elís , and appropriate settings by Santiago Ontañon . An entertaining story plenty of dramatic moments , moving feelings and surprising finale . It is a light , wistful drama , easy to watch , and easier to love . It is as beautifully filmed as it is written and acted . A nice film that surprised at the time for its high doses of eroticism , whimpering orgasms , baddie characters , but that had nothing to do with the coarse films made in the seventies . It seems to me an estimable , agreeable , delicate and sensual Pilar Miró work, resulting to be her first film . Stars a young and seductive Ana Belén at the zenith of her career , she is the absolute protagonist of this singular work . Pilar Miró's main challenge was to extend Zola's brief original tale , loading the ink on the character of Teresa -Ana Belén-, to the detriment of the servant -Frederick de Pasquale- role who is not mute in the novel , a referential character who loses his real sense in the flick . Thus , the female character was born, so common throughout Miró's filmography : independent , strong , incapable of establishing a love relationship as equals , extremely jealous of her personal universe that we will find in her other Miró films . This main role Teresa was well played by Ana Belén , prividing a fine acting as a cruel , egoistic , ambitious woman to the point of sadism. Her limit to her wishes for freedom, however, crashing with the social conventions of her class, which she is not willing to give up . Everything will be complicated in an excessive outburst of passion with her lover , perfectly performed by Emilio Gutiérrez Caba . In my opinion, Teresa's character lacks a little more dramatic thickness to be able to better understand her wayward behavior , since only a few childhood scenes are not enough to develop her personality , being consequently reduced to a kind of spoiled girl's whims . Starring duo being competently supported with a plethora of stunning Spanish actors , such as : María Luisa Ponte , Eduardo Calvo, Carmen Maura , Antonio Canal , Pedro del Rio, Francisco Merino, Félix Rotaeta, Mayrata O'Wisiedo, among others.
The motion picture was well directed by Pilar Miró , though has some flaws , shortcomings and a little bit boring . Despite having serious problems with censorship, she managed to get away with it without having to cut shots of the erotic scenes , opening to great box office success. Pilar Miró was 36 years old when she made her first film, but she had extensive experience in the world of television, making important adaptations for the small screen, with works by Wilde, Irving, O'Neill, Dickens, Thackeray, Balzac, Zorrilla , Bécquer, Miura, Tirso de Molina and many others . Furthermore , Pilar was designated General Director of Cinema. Resigning in 1985, the next year she joins the Spanish Television (RTVE) where worked a lot . The last work was the coverage of the Royal Wedding of Infanta Cristina in Barcelona (1997) . And member of the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival 1995 , as well as member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1991. Miró played an important role in her film debut, La petición (1976) , because with the help of actor, screenwriter and set designer Leo Anchóriz, they decided to write together this story inspired by a story by Emile Zola entitled "For a night of love" . She was an expert filmmaker of Television chapters and occasionally for cinema , getting some successes such as ¨The dog in the Manger¨ or ¨El Perro del Hortelano¨, ¨Beltenebros¨ ¨The bird of happiness¨ , ¨Gary Cooper, what are you in the heaven¨, ¨Werther¨, "Your name poisons my dreams" and especially ¨The Cuenca crime¨ . ¨La petición(1976)¨ resulted to be a success and got a lot of money at the Spanish box office , thanks to good cast , spectacular set production and enjoyable atmosphere . Rating : 6/10 . Acceptable and passable film that will appeal to Spanish cinema aficionados .
