My Dearest Senorita

Jaime de Armiñán's 1972 Spanish film follows Adela, fifty years old and living alone in a provincial town, who learns after a medical examination that she is biologically male. She leaves her identity as a woman, moves to Madrid and tries to build a new life. What stands out is that the film never makes its character ridiculous or pitiable, and did so under Franco, when sexual identity could not be discussed in Spain. José Luis López Vázquez carries a person who has lived as both a woman and a man without falling into imitation. The film was nominated in the foreign film category at the Academy Awards. The pace is slow and the closing section ambiguous. Who it's for: viewers interested in the history of Spanish cinema and early films about gender identity. Who it's not for: anyone expecting language matching today's terminology, or who will find a slow pace wearing.