Even the Wind is Afraid (1968) complete (English subtitles)

Directed in Mexico by Carlos Enrique Taboada, Hasta el viento tiene miedo (1968) (Even the Wind is Afraid) is perhaps the best traditional ghost story ever filmed. In a strict boarding school for girls headmistress Miss Bernarda (Marga López) dominates not only her pupils, but her more kindly deputy Miss Lucía (Maricruz Olivier). When a group of girls is caught trespassing in an outbuilding they fancy is haunted the stage is set for a tragedy to unfold. The real tragedy is that it won't even be for the first time...

Alicia Bonet plays Claudia, the perfectly ordinary schoolgirl at the heart of the story. She wakes in the dormitory one night screaming, having dreamed of a girl's lifeless body hanging in a derelict attic. When she spots that the door to a sinister tower in the school grounds is standing unlocked, she recognises it as the scene of her nightmare. Together with a group of friends she investigates, but on the verge of making a discovery they are interrupted by Miss Bernarda.

The headmistress hands out a severe punishment: the girls must stay behind at school through the half-term holidays. It's during these few days that the drama takes place. I won't say any more about the plot. It's the beautiful execution rather than the storyline that makes this film so special. There are several very atmospheric sequences, and one brief scene in particular is one of my all-time favourite pieces of gothic.

Also squeezing into school blazers (some of these girls seem not just too old for school but for any kind of full-time education whatsoever) are Norma Lazareno as exhibitionist Kitty, and Elizabeth Dupeyrón as her nemesis, the school sneak Josefina. Watch out for the rare moment these two dance together - it's one of the most delightful things I've ever seen!

This copy seems to have been taped off TV. It's in Spanish with embedded English subtitles. Note that these fansubs started out barely comprehensible and have been translated into better English by myself, but without the benefit of actually understanding the original Spanish. I believe they're faithful to the sense of the story if not to the letter of the script.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Carlos Enrique Taboada
• Mexican horror
• ghost story
• boarding school
• girls school
• school uniform
• schoolgirl
• striptease
• shower scene

[Hendrikdevuile]

@EddietheArsehead

In the samples I looked at, the subtitles are fine. I assume that you based them on grammatically dubious originals. I am a Spanish-speaking Englishman resident in Spain. Mexican is generally clearer than Iberian Spanish even if one has never been to Mexico.

[EddietheArsehead]

@Hendrikdevuile It's good to know the subtitles don't have howlers in them. The originals had a machine-translated look, very long-winded, with questionable choice of words at times. Eg. when the Headmistress disagreed with the doctor's assessment of Claudia's mental state she retorted: "Bollocks, we all have nightmares".

[wassupjg]

@rosnisb yeh lol

[redmunkee]

I loved the Bob Fosse inspired dance number in the middle, so random, so 60s.

[rosnisb]

This was actually pretty good.