Death and the Maiden (1994)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers (WGA):

Ariel Dorfman (play)
Rafael Yglesias (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 March 1995 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Prepare yourself for the moment of truth.

Plot:

A political activist is convinced that her guest is a man who once tortured her for the government.

Plot Keywords:

Rape Confession | False Accusation | Politics | False Confession | Female Nudity

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Sigourney Weaver	...	Paulina Escobar
Ben Kingsley	...	Dr. Roberto Miranda
Stuart Wilson	...	Gerardo Escobar
Krystia Mova	...	Dr. Miranda's Wife
Jonathan Vega	...	Dr. Miranda's Son
Rodolphe Vega	...	Dr. Miranda's Son
Gilberto Cortés	...	String Quartet Player (as Gilberto Cortes)
Jorge Cruz	...	String Quartet Player
Carlos Moreno	...	String Quartet Player
Eduardo Valenzuela	...	String Quartet Player
Sergio Ortega Alvarado	...	String Quartet Manager

Also Known As:

La jeune fille et la mort (France)
La muerte y la doncella (Chile) (Spain) [es]
Ölüm ve bakire (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
A Noite da Vingança (Portugal) [pt]
A halál és a lányka (Hungary) [hu]
Death and the Maiden (Denmark) [da]
Deklica in smrt (Slovenia) [sl]
Der Tod und das Mädchen (Germany) [de]
Ha-Alma V'Ha-Muv'it (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
La mort i la donzella (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
La morte e la fanciulla (Italy) [it]
Natt utan nåd (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
O thanatos kai i kori (Greece) [el]
Smierc i dziewczyna (Poland) [pl]
Yö ei tunne armoa (Finland) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language including descriptions of violent situations.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

UK | USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Brazil:12 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | UK:18 | South Korea:18 | New Zealand:R18 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (bw) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chile

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

In the original play by Ariel Dorfman, Paulina states her maiden name as Paulina Salas, not Paulina Lorca as in the film version.

Goofs:

Continuity: Dr. Miranda's moustache changes inconsistently throughout the movie.

Quotes:

Dr. Roberto Miranda: How can I confess to something I haven't done?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: 65 Million Years Off (#2.2)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

SCHUBERT STRING QUARTET IN D MINOR

Innocence Abroad

Criminals are punished morally by their conscience and legally by the state. What about state-sanctioned crimes? Not only may the victim no longer have much faith in "the state" to essentially police itself but also the "state-sponsored" perpetrator may feel morally innocent. The unforgettable stories of outrageous evil in Polanski's "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" were arguably overshadowed by the incomparable acting and direction. Here the presentation, although good, is more conventional, so the plot takes center stage, with the focus, as I saw it, on retribution and psychological guilt/innocence. Does the ending depict justice? It seems unrealistic, but maybe was intended to highlight some of the limitations of a justice system for addressing the fundamental causes and effects of violence.