A woman bored with marriage discovers the pleasure and pain of infidelity in this stylish drama from Mexico. Zoe (Bárbara Mori) is a beautiful woman who has been married to Ignacio (Christian Meier) for nearly a decade. While Zoe still loves her husband, she feels the spark has gone out of their relationship, and she’s become restless and anxious.
Hoping to find the excitement she craves in forbidden fruit, Zoe falls into an affair with Gonzalo (Manolo Cardona), Ignacio’s rough-edged but handsome brother. Zoe and Gonzalo’s passionate affair is deeply satisfying to them both, but the adulterous couple must deal with the sharp sting of betrayal when Ignacio finds out they’ve been sleeping together. However the story takes a big turn when we find out the affair has only been a revenge towards his brother for Gonzalo. He is taking revenge for his brother raping him when he was younger therefore destroying his life.
About the Production
One of the most successful films in the history of Latin American cinema, La Mujer De Mi Hermano tells the sexy and dramatic story of Zoë and Ignacio, an unhappily married, yuppie couple living in Mexico City whose lives are upended by adultery and buried family secrets.
Featuring three of Latin America’s hottest young stars, including Mexican telenovela superstar Barbara Mori, the steamy character-driven film became a runaway box office smash across Latin America, out-performing big-budget Hollywood imports and breaking records in Mexico, Perú, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela.
“La Mujer De Mi Hermano is a very intimate movie,” says director Ricardo de Montreuil. “It’s a movie that talks about infidelity, sexuality, and the demons that people hide from the world.”
Originally a best-selling novel by Peruvian author Jamie Bayly, La Mujer De Mi Hermano is a psychologically acute exploration of a complicated love triangle involving two competitive brothers haunted by the past and the woman who comes between them.
While De Montreuil was eager to direct a film adaptation of the novel, Bayly was initially reluctant to allow his work to be translated for the screen, particularly after his disappointment over the film version of his first novel, No Se Lo Digas A Nadie (Don’t Tell Anyone). “Jamie really wanted to be sure that the film wouldn’t betray the novel,” says de Montreuil. “From the beginning I wanted to be as faithful as possible to his book and to the story that he wanted to tell.”
Once de Montreuil suggested that Bayly write the script and offer creative input on production issues like casting, Bayly agreed to proceed, developing the script for a year before he felt it was ready for production. “In large part, Jaime did the adaptation and then I collaborated with him on the final draft,” explains de Montreuil.
In an attempt to reach a broader Latin American audience, producer Stan Jakubowicz and de Montreuil decided to re-set the film in Mexico. “Generally, Latin American films are too local. They don’t translate well to other territories,” says Jakubowicz. “We tried to change that by making this a Mexican film.” The filmmakers’ logic is understandable: Mexico is Latin America’s largest film market and Mexican products are usually well received in other Latin American territories. A Mexico-set film could also potentially appeal to the sizable Latino population in the United States, 80% of which are Mexican. Despite the story’s Mexican locale, the five-week production shot in Santiago, Chile and cast actors from across Latin America, achieving a broad mix of nationalities and cultures. Before filming began, the multi-national cast worked with dialect coaches to create an authentic, and uniform, Mexican accent.
De Montreuil readily admits that the massive popularity of La Mujer De Mi Hermano was due in part to the fortunate casting of Latin American superstar Barbara Mori in the role of Zoë, the adulterous wife. The Uruguay-born actress, now a Mexican citizen, had been a rising star in Mexican soaps for some years when de Montreuil invited her to audition for the role. But it wasn’t until after production was completed that Mori vaulted to stardom with “Rubi,” one of the most successful telenovelas in the history of Mexican television.
The show continues to break ratings records in Mexico and around the world and has pushed Mori firmly onto the global stage. Last year, People Magazine named her one of the 50 Most Beautiful Women in the World.
“Barbara is a supremely talented actress. We bet on her for her talent,” avows de Montreuil. “But the popular success she’s achieved as an actress helped La Mujer achieve the success that it did. We owe that to her and to the great talent of all who were involved in this production.”
Mori was immediately taken with Bayly’s intimate storytelling and the complex love triangle at the heart of the script. “It’s such an interesting movie,” she says. “Zoë is a young bourgeois girl who has spent practically all of her life in an unhappy marriage. She feels that she isn’t cared for, that her husband doesn’t appreciate her. But she’s also very submissive. She’s dying to experience passion in her life, but she doesn’t have the strength of character to leave her husband.”
Latin heart-throb Christian Meier uses his clean-cut good looks to perfect effect as Ignacio, Zoë’s “metro-sexual” husband who is experiencing his own mid-life crisis. “He’s a sad guy,” says Meier of his character. “He’s a guy who is on one hand very selfish, and on the other hand is a coward. He’s learned to love himself more than everyone else, including his wife. He likes to look good. He likes to be impeccable. But he can’t achieve it totally because he has something inside that is drowning him.”
Manolo Cardona, a Columbian actor whose sex appeal has made him one of Latin America’s biggest male stars, rounds out the love triangle as Gonzalo, Ignacio’s tempestuous artist brother. “Gonzalo breaks the harmony of Ignacio’s home for a reason that at the beginning of the film is unclear,” says the actor. “But as we go along we learn why he made this premeditated encounter with Zoë.”
Cardona believes that the film’s dramatic success lies in the unexpected revelations it makes of its three main characters. “Audiences can relate, because at first these characters appear normal. It’s not until later that we learn how wounded they are,” says the actor. “I think this story is completely universal. It could happen anywhere.”
“The movie culminates at the point where these three people are forced to relate to each other on a deeper level than they’re used to,” adds Meier. “Each character has to learn how to accept himself as a person and show others who he really is. That’s the basic drama of the movie.”
De Montreuil heightened the conflict between appearances and truth by giving the film a clean, glossy look that is a departure from the grittiness of recent Latin American imports. With the help of production designer Wolfgang Burman and director of photography Andres E. Sanchez, he used the finest locations in Santiago to create a world that appears almost artificially perfect. “One of the ideas of the story is to expose the hypocrisy of wealthy Latin American society,” says de Montreuil. “Latin films usually depict misery in the form of poverty, drugs and crime. This film reveals the misery underneath the surface of normalcy and privilege.”
Like Amores Perros and Y Tu Mama Tambien before it, La Mujer De Mi Hermano also introduces a cutting edge line-up of new Latin American music to American audiences. The film’s score was composed by Angelo Milli, and the soundtrack features some of the latest trend-setters in Latin alternative and electronica: Andrea Echeverri, electronic darlings Nortec Collective, Sara Valenzuela, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Pinker Tones and NYCbased up-and-comers Pacha.
Beto Cuevas, the Chilean-born vocalist from the multiple Grammy-winning Latin rock band, La Ley, also contributes a re-working of one of his band’s classic tracks, “Mentira.” Cuevas appears in a cameo in the film, in which he plays a Catholic priest. “It was a lot of fun, especially considering that people know me as a rock singer,” laughs Cueuvas. He adds, “I know Jaime Bayly and I love his books. And I really liked the screenplay. It was a completely new experience for me.”
Now that de Montreuil has followed his film’s phenomenal success across Latin America, he is eager to see how La Mujer De Mi Hermano’s depiction of hot-button taboos is received by American audiences. Yet whatever the outcome, the director rests confidently on the knowledge that he did justice to Bayly’s work. “When Jaime Bayly saw the movie for the first time,” recounts the director, “he sent me an email saying he loved the movie and appreciated it even more than the book. That was the best moment I could have asked for as a director.”
About the Cast
Barbara Mori (Zoë)
Beauty and talent are the hallmarks of this Uruguayan born actress who is now a Mexican citizen. Mori started acting at a very young age, and at age 18, this natural gift allowed her to take part in the soap opera “In the North of Heart.” Bárbara studied at the Actors Education and Formation Center of TV Azteca, and her first leading role came with “Blue Tequila” where she showed her talent as an actress. This led to appearances on seven other TV shows, also as a main character, which led to a great deal of professional growth.
In 2001, she debuted on the big screen in Inspiracion, directed by Angel Mario Huerta. Currently she is starring in Televisa’s “Rubí,” a Mexican soap that has broken viewer records there and around the world. People Magazine named her one of the “50 Most Beautiful Women in the World,” and the Mexican daily newspaper named her the Most Beautiful Woman in that country. She was recently the voice of “Cappy” in “Robots” and the main character in “Pretending”, by Claudio Dabed.
Christian Meier (Ignacio)
Meier is one of Latin America’s most celebrated actors, starring in five major films and twelve Peruvian soaps. In 1994, Meier was the lead in both “Sparrow” and in “Moon, the Heir” in 2004, helping him become one of the most popular actors in Latin America. Meier was the principal actor in No Se Lo Digas A Nadie, Francisco Lombardi’s filmed version of Peruvian writer Jaime Bayly’s first novel. This film remains one of the most important films in Peruvian cinema and is still the number one rated Peruvian box office hit. It was a contender for the best film in Spain’s prestigious Festival de San Sebastian.
He has also starred in films like Felipe Degregori’s Cuidad De M,, in which he played a variety of dramatic roles. Christian has other feature films to his credit (such as Watchers 3 [1993] and A Martian Named Desire [2002]) and has been part of five recording productions as an author, composer and singer.
Manolo Cardona (Gonzalo)
Cardona began his acting career in “Padres e Hijos,” one of Colombia’s most popular soaps. However, his career really took off with his successful role as the leading man in “Pobre Diablo.” With success in the soaps came a series of roles as host of some of TV’s most watched variety shows like “The Billboard Awards” and Telemundo’s version of “Temptation Island.”
His most recent acting stint in Ladron De Corazones swept all the top rating honors and positioned him as one of Latin America’s highest ranking male stars. He just recently finished filming the Universal Pictures film Rosario Tijeras.
Gabriela Espino (Laura)
Gabriela Espino is a passionate woman with her feet firmly on the ground. This beautiful Venezuelan actress is synonymous with first rate entertainment. Her talents have emerged in teen comedies like “All Heart,” “That’s life,” “In Love,” “Full Moon Lovers,” “Women War,” “The Gonzalez,” and “Rebecca.” Her recent appearances on television were in the Colombian productions’ “Moon,” and “The Heiress” for Caracol Televisión. She is considered Venezuela’s most popular actress and has vast experience as a model and presenter for Sony Entertainment Television.
Angelica Aragon (Cristina)
Aragon has had a wide-ranging and distinguished film career that includes more than 30 films in Mexico and the United States. Her credits include such highly acclaimed and critically received films as El Crimen Del Padre Amaro (“The Murder of Father Amaro”) starring alongside Garcia Bernal, which was nominated for an Academy Award as the best foreign movie. Bilingual, Aragón has conquered the American market, taking part in such movies as A Walk in the Clouds with Anthony Quinn and Keanu Reeves, and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights with, Diego Luna. She has not limited her career to movies, where she began as child actress, but has had success on stage in theater and behind the camera as a director in Mexico, the United States and Puerto Rico.
Bruno Bichir (Boris)
Bruno Bichir is one of the most important actors in the history of Mexican film. Bichir has taken part in more than thirty productions in Mexico and the United States and has also lent his talents to television and plays. Bichir, whose skill is not only limited to acting and producing, also has a career as a director.
Beto Cuevas (Padre Santiago)
Beto Cuevas will begin production in March 2006 as the star of the independent feature Una Vez Mas, from the team of producer Stan Jakubowicz and director Ricardo de Montreuil. Previously, Beto completed principal photography on the Emmett/Furla feature Borderland starring opposite Sean Astin.
Beto is best known as one of the most important rock stars in Latin America. Previous to his recent acting roles, he was on the final tour as the lead singer of Warner Bros. recording artists, La Ley (The Law). From Santiago, Chile, La Ley has been at the forefront of popular Latin music in the United States, Mexico and Latin America for over a decade and are one of the most important Latin rock bands in the world today, whose melodies have bridged gaps between countries and languages.
The band is constantly nominated and have won key critical awards including the Latin Grammy for “Best Rock Album of the Year” (2004), MTV Latin Awards “Best Rock Band of the Year” (2004), MTV VMA Latin America “Best Rock Artist & Best Group or Duo – MTV Unplugged” (2002), the Latin-Grammy “Best Group of the Year – MTV Unplugged” (2002), and the Grammy Award for Best Latin Alternative Rock Album for “Uno” (2000)
These production notes provided by Lionsgate Films.
La Mujer de mi Hermano
Starring: Barbara Mori, Christian Meier, Manolo Cardona, Gaby Espino, Bruno Bichir, Angélica Aragón, Beto Cuevas
Directed by: Ricardo de Montreuil
Screenplay by: Jaime Bayly
Release Date: April 14th, 2006
MPAA Rating: R for sexuality and language.
Studio: Lionsgate Films
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $2,808,241 (33.1%)
Foreign: $5,683,937 (66.9%)
Total: $8,492,178 (Worldwide)