Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases


I, the Worst of All (1990)

Director: María Luisa Bemberg

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Bemberg's dramatisation of the life of Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz, the 17th century Mexican writer, moves from an austere series of tableaux to a charged atmosphere of repression and calculating ambition. Flashbacks reveal Sister Juana's fatherless, impoverished and intellectually precocious childhood, and there's a suggestion that her decision to enter the convent was a tactical manoeuvre enabling her to pursue her studies and writing. When the archbishop later conspires to stop her work, she becomes embroiled in a counterplot to undermine his authority, with disastrous results. Serna's intense performance in the lead role is never allowed to dominate a plot built around internecine conflict, shifting loyalties, betrayals and individual acts of courage. The drama is progressively unsettling, particularly as the spiritual malaise becomes manifest in the horrific ravages of the plague.

Author: CM

Time Out Film Guide


What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

Ridley Scott interview

Ridley Scott interview

Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback

Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report

Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report

Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke

Wes Anderson interview

Wes Anderson interview

Cath Clarke talks to the director of Cannes's opening film

Open-air movies in London

Open-air movies in London

Cath Clarke rounds up this summer's crop of outdoor film screenings

The 100 best French films

The 100 best French films

In honour of Cannes, we reveal the best French films of all time

Ken Loach interview

Ken Loach interview

Ken Loach talks to us about his Cannes Film Festival entry 'The Angels' Share'