Reeling 2010: Dearest Mother (Madre Amadísima)

Dressing a statue of Mary for her procession through a small Spanish village, middle-aged Alfredo recounts the story of his life to her. Silently, she absorbs his tale, beginning with his mother’s ill-advised nuptials to his brooding and abusive father. Raised in a home with a nurturing mother and violent, often-absent father, Alfredo’s Catholic development begins to reflect his views of his parents. He favors recitations of Hail Marys to Our Fathers, the words of which he has blocked from memory. His homosexuality begins to manifest itself during his early adolescence, at the peak of Franco’s ultra-conservative rule of Spain. Over the years—from his teenage romances, to his awkward stint in the military, to his years as a club-going party boy—Alfredo’s lovers come and go without ever publicly acknowledging him. Relating his lovers’ rejections to his father’s rejection of his mother only drives him closer to her. As his mother’s health begins to fail, Alfredo must let go of the sins of his father to be able survive without her. Dearest Mother is a humorous, sensual and touching story of one man’s life in an era where he is only truly understood by his “Holy Mother.” —Zachary Togami for Reeling Dearest Mother (Madre Amadísima) Pilar Tavora (Spain, 2009, 105 min.) In Spanish, with English subtitles Reeling: The Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival, the second oldest film festival of its kind in the US, is presenting 54 programs over 10 days from November 4-13, 2010. Advance sales are available until the day before the show. After that, tickets must be purchased at the theater box office on the day of the screening. Regular Screenings: $10 ($8 members), Matinee Screenings (before 5:00 pm): $8 ($6 members).

Event website Tickets