Nadie te oye. Perfume de violetas

Yessica is a troubled teenage tomboy who moves schools again after being expelled for hitting her teacher. She lives in poor conditions with her brother Jorge, mother and two other very young siblings and she befriends the sweetly naïve Miriam who appears to Yessica to be living in luxury with her mother. The two become very good friends and spend a lot of time together. One day Jorge agrees to set up Yessica to be raped by one of his friends in exchange for money and afterwards threatens Miriam to keep quiet about it. Yessica's increasing reliance on Miriam puts pressure on their relationship.

What starts as a comment on the problem of sexual abuse in Mexico's cities turns into more of a specific dramatic story that is good for the most part but gets weaker as it goes. For the most part the film looks at the friendship between Yessica and Miriam and how both it and Yessica herself are changed when she is repeatedly raped by her brother's friend. For the vast majority of the film this is very involving and seems very real and rather moving; this changes a little near the end where events go further than they really should in the aim of bringing the film to a dramatic close, but it's point is still made. It is not really easy to get into mainly because Yessica is never once made an easy character to feel for – she is troubled, unpleasant and difficult and the film rightly challenges us that these characteristics may not be there, they may have been caused and we are wrong to judge her or label her. The plot maybe lacks enough going on to fill out the time and parts of the second half feel like they drag a little bit, but this is a minor problem and it is hard to lose interest due to the nature of the story.

The characters are pretty well drawn despite being a little bit basic outside of the lead two. Both Yessica and Miriam change over the duration of the film. Yessica is the most convincing but Miriam's is harder to understand despite also being engaging and interesting. It is fortunate that both characters are very well acted. Ayala takes the hardest role and manages to make it work well; she wins the audience's sympathy but not by just becoming pathetic or needy. Gutiérrez is sweeter and a more sympathetic character and manages to be realistic even when the plot turns and makes her character more difficult to follow along with. The rest of the cast are good with their smaller roles and I didn't think there were any bad performances in the piece.

Overall this is a difficult film but one that is worth seeing. The plot deals with an important issue and manages to do it well despite overextending itself towards the end. The performances are natural and really drive the film. It is far from perfect and it is lacking in several areas but it is involving and important enough to be worth a watch at least once.

I used to live in Mexico and this was definitely the best movie I saw there, and by far the best movie ever made on the life of the poor people of La Ciudad de México. Although Mexico to me is a very distinct place from the one described by the movie, it was shocking to see that these people living in true agony passed by the same places where I'd been and took the same bus as I did. It gave me a totally new perspective on my ride when I sat on that bus again the next morning. Life to most people on this planet is extremely cruel, but sometimes we seem to forget it, even if it's right beneath your very own eyes. Perfume de violetas opened my eyes; I think it would be good to remember that there are over 20 million people living in Mexico City, with the number rising by nearly 3000 every day, and that most people aren't even as well-off as Yessica, and definitely not as lucky as Miriam. Viva Mexico, eh!?!

"Perfume de violetas" is, by far, one of the best and most underrated Mexican films in years. The story is shocking and touching, the direction by Sistatch is marvelous and the acting is superb (just watch the two girls, they're wonderful). No more words. Just see this film. Four stars out of four.

"Yessica" (Ximena Ayala) is friends at school with "Miriam" (Nancy Gutiérrez) even though the two are really chalk and cheese. The latter is a more restrained lass whilst her friend is more of a boisterous creature. That might be because she lives with her mum and her step-dad and his son "Jorge" (Luis Fernando Peña). Now he's a total creep and makes an arrangement that will pimp out the young girl to his bus driving mate so he can earn some money for a pair of trainers! Despite the fact that she is taken from the street in broad daylight and assaulted on the floor of his bus, there is no effort made by anyone to bring the culprits to book as she, herself, is so embarrassed by the whole experience that she cannot tell anyone. Her rather toxic method of dealing with things is to become even more emotionally attached to "Miriam" and in so doing she starts to make problems for her friend that causes that girl's mother (Arcelia Ramírez) to intervene - and that makes the vulnerable girl even more so. This is quite a savage indictment on attitudes of sexual entitlement by a man whose treatment of the young girl is brutal and cavalier. He has no fear of retribution and as the young "Yessica" goes further off the rails the behaviour of the truly odious brother becomes quite sickeningly effective. That she is violently robbed of her innocence is tragic enough; the fact that she has no recourse to seek help, solace and/or legal redress is punchily portrayed here by a potent performance from Ayala and an unpleasant, under-your-fingernails, one from Peña. It's not a graphic film, but the message is writ large and offers a thought provoking critique of innate and obnoxious societal attitudes to sex.

The main character, Yessica, is a tomboy who is often in trouble. As a result, she is transferred to a new school, where she meets Miriam, who lives with her mother in what seems to Yessica like luxury. While Miriam's mother's main concern is saving enough money to get a better television, Yessica doesn't even have a bedroom to sleep in or money for the most basic school supplies. When Yessica's step-brother arranges for her to be raped, things go from bad to worse. In her environment she doesn't feel like there is anyone she can tell, so she must suffer silently, which reminded me of how the women in "Missing Young Woman" were often not missed.

This film, which was Mexico's nomination for best foreign language film of 2001, is difficult to watch, but it's worth the effort. My notes also indicate that I liked the soundtrack. Seen at Cinequest (the San Jose, CA film festival) on 2/27/2002.