In 1928, in a revolutionary Mexico, in the small village of Progreso nearby the harbor in the district of Yucatan, Eliseo (Daniel Acuña) is the son of a violent stevedore, who is one of the founders of the local Union. The boy has a sister, mother and two friends, and is not a good student. He frequently lies, specially to avoid the physical aggressions of his father. His teacher Felipa (Blanca Guerra) decides to help him to assume responsibilities and asks him to clean her house daily before going to school. Felipa is in love with a sailor. One day, Eliseo arrives wounded due to the beating of his father and stays at her house in the night. The solitude approaches them and the boy has an intercourse with her, becoming the favorite student of Felipa. Their affair ends when her beloved sailor is found drowned and Felipa moves from Progreso. The main story continues in 1937, when Eliseo is a married young man, and Felipa returns to Progreso. This film is excellent, having a screenplay with many characters, all of them very well defined for the viewer, and many plots and sub-plots. This romance is about love, ignorance, corruption and intolerance. The direction is superb and the actors and actresses have a magnificent performance in this very credible story. Although having a minor role, it was good to see Elpidia Carrilo, from `Salvador', `Predator' and `Predator 2' on the screen. The problem in Brazil is the title and subtitles on the cover of this movie, which induces the viewer that this is a thriller or an horror film. I have the VHS, and the title is: `The Spell'; the subtitles are: `Magic, Seduction, Superstition, Witchcraft'. A viewer who does not know anything about the story, hires or buys the film expecting a suspenseful film. Indeed he will find a very sad romance. The target audience is not achieved using this type of subterfuge. My vote is nine.
Title (Brazil): `O Feitiço' (`The Spell')
