Short film
Elvira
Alfonso Patiño Gómez · 1955
Synopsis
Alberto, a young educated servant in the service of a well-off family, attracts Elvira, the daughter of the house, who is bored among her friends. After a kiss, she turns against him, accuses him of stealing books and gets her father to dismiss him: the difference in station and the prejudices of the time separate them. Alberto makes a name for himself as a writer under the pseudonym Mariano González, then returns to the house, first as a servant, then as administrator.
Context
The film adapts a book by the philosopher Moisés Vincenzi published in 1940; it was produced by the Costa Rican Carlos Alfaro McAdam for Radio Columbia and, according to Bértold Salas Murillo, photographed by the Mexican Max Liszt. It was released on 5 May 1955 at the Teatro Raventós, in San José. Its credits present it as the first Costa Rican film, made by mere amateurs, which is contradicted by a feature film released a quarter of a century earlier. The critics of the time faulted its direction and photography and above all praised the national effort. The film shows San José, which the book did not name.
Who it is for
A medium-length film of forty minutes, in black and white, in Spanish, available in a digital version with English subtitles.
Prizes and reception
The first sound fiction medium-length film shot in Costa Rica and the second film in the history of the country's cinema.
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