As far back as I can remember, I had a happy childhood.
But I grew older,
and that's when the questions started.
And with the questions came the suffering.
Who am I?
Where do I come from?
What is my story?
Who were those women
whose names were always pronounced quietly...
when they thought I wasn't listening?
Who were they?
INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY
CHUBUT PROVINCE, ARGENTINA. 1925
Can I touch your face?
I imagine there are things you'd like to know.
Things?
Everything.
It's impossible to know everything.
Are you in the first year?
But I've been sick and I missed the first few days.
If you don't dry off, you'll get sick again. Come on.
Come on!
VANITY IS YOUR WEAKNESS
Do you think they will take into account the days off that I've missed?
Don't worry, I'll talk to them.
I'm in my third year and I work here. My aunt is the headmistress.
Let me help you.
Thank you.
-Am I hurting you? -No.
And now?
No.
Now?
No.
My name is Elisa.
I'm Marcela.
I like your mole.
This week, we are going to learn about pronouns.
Come in.
-Good morning. -Good morning.
Excuse me, Sister, she's new at the school and was lost.
She's been sick and missed the first few days.
But she's very hardworking and keen to get up to date quickly.
-Can she take a seat? -Yes. Thank you, Elisa.
Please...
Your name?
Marcela Gracia Ibeas.
Very well. Have a seat there, please.
Let's continue with the lesson.
People or things are not only called by their name,
but also by words which replace the name.
So, when we say,
"Bernardo was very happy with his Elvira,
and they lived happily together,
she with him, and he with her,"
"he" replaces Bernardo and "she" replaces Elvira.
You scared me.
Really? I'm sorry.
I was waiting for you.
I live upstairs with my aunt and the other nuns. Didn't I tell you?
-Inside the school? -Mm-hmm.
I wanted to thank you.
There's no need.
What is it like living with the nuns?
What do you think?
I don't know.
It's hell.
Considering they're the wives of God, they're a bunch of old hags.
They're always fighting and criticizing each other,
and they're not happy.
It's like living in a harem,
where all the women fight in order to be the Sultan's favorite.
But the Sultan is never there.
Never?
I've never seen him.
Don't you believe...
in God?
I don't believe in nuns.
I don't believe in priests.
Nor the Virgin Mary, nor the Holy Spirit, especially not that.
And... I don't believe in God.
And you?
I don't know.
I only believe in things that move.
I believe in horses.
I'd do anything to have one.
What about mice? And cats and dogs, do you believe in them?
In pigeons and in snails.
And in ants, in everything.
You should go home.
And you have to go back to the nuns.
Yes.
See you tomorrow, then.
See you tomorrow.
Have a nice evening.
-Don't forget an umbrella tomorrow. -No.
Who was the girl...
that accompanied you?
She's from school.
Elisa.
She helped me find the classroom.
Her aunt is the headmistress.
There are husks in the soup.
I strained it three times.
You strained it?
In this school, you must learn, yes, but not too much.
Not too much, just enough.
Hello, Elisa.
Good morning, Elisa.
How are you, Elisa?
Hello, Elisa. How are you?
Elisa...
Elisa, Elisa, Elisa...
Elisa, Elisa...
You didn't listen to me.
No.
I forgot.
This Christian victory beside the Cave of Covadonga
is the result of bravery and the Christian faith,
which nourished the Christian soldiers,
who were capable of defeating the Moorish troops,
who, I'd say, were barbarians.
Isabel and Fernando
Were excellent monarchs
-They kicked out of Spain... -Do you want to see my bedroom?
The dark-skinned Moors
Now?
If not now, when?
Elisa...
Who are you with?
Marcela, she's new at the school, Sister Clara.
Ah, and what is she like?
She's...
a redhead.
Or carrot-colored, rather.
She has lots of freckles.
And she's very fat!
-Are you sure? -And lame!
If I didn't know you, Elisa...
If I didn't know you!
This is where I read and draw.
At least they leave me alone.
Do you want me to go?
No, not you, please.
I meant the nuns and my aunt.
Do you know what they're always telling me?
No.
That I should find a man and get married soon.
If I don't, I'll have to stay with them here forever.
They tell me that day in, day out.
My dad tells me not to waste too much time at school.
And that teachers have a bad reputation.
And that I should get married now before I get pregnant.
And what do you tell him?
And you, what do you tell them?
I asked first.
I tell them...
I tell them what they want to hear.
Me too.
But instead of marrying a man, I'd rather do anything else, anything.
I don't know if I want to get married or not.
Dear me!
There are lots of things you don't know, right?
If you believe in God, if you want to get married.
Is there anything you are sure about?
I know that I was in an orphanage until I was ten.
Sleeping with 40 other girls in potato sacks.
With rats crawling where they please.
Eating watered-down soup full of dead spiders.
Seeing nothing but misery...
and filth.
And masses.
One morning, all of a sudden,
a woman came who said she was my mother.
My real mother.
She took me to a house with a man who said he was my father.
They never hugged me,
nor told me why for ten years I had thought they were dead.
I don't know if they're my parents.
So, if I don't even know that,
how can I know if I believe in God?
Or in marriage? Or anything?
Forgive me, Marcela...
I didn't know.
-I'm going to class. -I'm sorry.
Will you forgive me?
Good evening.
I'm Elisa, Marcela's classmate.
She lent me this book this morning and I came to give it back. Can I...
-I'll give it to her. -Thank you.
-Good night. -Good night.
From that classmate of yours.
You left it behind, she said.
Some books bring us nothing good.
"Dear Marcela,
I would never deliberately hurt you.
I swear.
Believe me.
Believe me and forgive me.
Yours, Elisa."
"Yours, Elisa."
Marcela.
Your father is wrong.
Books...
What?
What about books?
I read in secret...
when your father doesn't see me.
That's not true.
Emilia Pardo Bazán.
THE BURNING QUESTION
-I dreamt... -I dreamt...
-You first. -No, you.
I had a dream about you.
No way.
I had a dream about you.
Really?
Yes.
You won't tell me your dream?
No.
Never.
And you?
Me neither.
Do you know something I've been thinking my whole life?
What?
Sometimes I walk here.
I go close to the water.
Then I close my eyes and dream.
You dream?
I dream that I'm riding a horse,
and I cross the sea.
Then I reach the shore...
and it's Argentina.
And I keep riding the horse for a long time...
without getting tired.
It's an absurd dream, because I've never ridden a horse and...
I'm very scared of the sea.
But... What are you doing?
This is real, isn't it?
It isn't a dream?
It isn't this cold in dreams.
You should go. It's a long way back to school.
I don't mind.
See you tomorrow.
Marcela, I...
-There are so many things-- -Elisa.
They're waiting for me inside.
Let me tell you one.
What?
If I died right now,
that moment with you in the sea...
would be the happiest moment of my life.
One day, I'll buy you a horse.
Let her go.
-She’ll stay to take care of you. -She's studying.
-I'm fine, really. -Enough.
No way. Don't even think about going to school today.
Why not?
You'll look after your mother, she's not well.
I'm fine. Really, I'm fine. Let her go.
Marcela is staying here today.
That's final.
In Portugal, there are three main natural regions,
the north, the center, and the south,
which consists of the Alentejo and the Algarve.
The northern region
is located between the Minho Province and the Serra da Estrela.
You know something?
My body is covered in moles.
And one day...
will you let me see them?
Wait here.
"Darkness didn't allow anything to be seen other than its imposing outline,
hiding the lines and details in the darkness of the night."
Who's this? What is she doing here?
This is Elisa.
She brought me my homework.
Seeing as I didn't go to school today.
Leave.
Daughter.
You and I need to talk.
About what?
-I can't miss class. -Yes, you can.
As your education is so important to you,
your mother and I are sending you to boarding school... in Madrid.
It's a good place, my child.
You'll learn a lot more than you will here.
In three years, you'll be a teacher.
Boarding school or a convent, you decide.
I would have chosen a convent, but your mother insisted.
-Where are you going? -Let go!
Get off! Let go of me!
-Stop it right there! -Let go!
Let go of me!
Dear Marcela,
Four weeks,
three days, and nine hours
have passed since the last time I could smell you.
Yet, I feel you are so close to me in my thoughts...
that I could almost touch you.
Everything reminds me of you.
Everything.
The children.
My aunt.
The nuns.
The sun.
The rain, the sea.
The sand.
This blank paper that I fill with words that take me to you.
The quill.
The ink.
I often dream of you, Marcela.
Even when I'm awake.
I draw you.
And so, wherever I look, I find you.
I miss you so much.
So much.
I want to kiss your mole.
Always yours...
Elisa.
Dear Elisa,
I've just read your letter.
Reading your words is the closest thing to touching you.
Some days, I imagine me by your side while you write.
While you write to me.
And I watch you.
I watch each gesture.
Each word that you give me.
And I look closely at your hands.
At your moles.
At your pauses.
At your haste.
And mine.
I imagine all our letters together as if they were magic charms.
And you and me naked, on top of them.
As if all the words that we've sent each other
could protect us from the cold,
from people,
from the distance.
Whenever one of your letters arrives,
before I open it, I hug it.
I hug you.
And your words calm my impatience,
my fear of not seeing you,
and the fear that one day you'll stop writing.
Your words of love penetrate my skin.
I think that my moles are words from you.
I love you so much, Elisa.
COUSO, GALICIA. THREE YEARS LATER
The chestnut...
is a fruit...
with a reddish shell.
The shape of the chestnut...
is very similar...
to that of a heart.
Draw a chestnut.
Honestly! What did I tell you? Have you finished drawing a chestnut?
I have the quickest kids in all of Couso.
Get back inside!
Who is she?
You.
-You've been with me all this time. -All this time.
-And you've been with me every minute. -Every minute.
You should apply for the school in Couso, ten kilometers from mine.
-Ten kilometers. -Ten kilometers.
Then I'll get them to transfer me with you.
-Yes. -Yes, with you.
With me.
-And we'll be together. -And we'll be together.
Together.
-Together. -Together.
-Forever.
Forever.
-I love you. -I love you.
Good morning.
Good morning!
You may sit down.
CALO, GALICIA. FEBRUARY, 1901
I'm Miss Marcela, what are your names?
I'm Pedro.
I'm Rosa.
My name is Celso.
My name is Rocío.
I'm Rosalía.
And the tree? Do you know what it is called?
THE HOLY TRINITY
GOD - HOLY SPIRIT - SON
Look at those two birds.
Can you give us a hand?
-We don't bite. -They're ill-tempered.
The...
body...
of the...
snail...
is...
soft.
I knew you were here.
I always know when you're near.
What's that letter?
My cousin, Mario.
My aunt's son.
He's drowned to death.
Drowned?
I hardly knew him, he always lived in England.
I was his only family.
Shall we eat?
Yes, I'm starving.
May I?
I don't dance.
What do you mean, you don't dance?
Just one.
Don't worry about your friend, I'll ask her next if you want.
Sometimes I feel so scared.
Elisa...
We have to play along.
Pretend we're like everyone else.
That we're just like them.
Or they won't leave us alone.
You know that.
I know.
What a pair.
-Have you seen those two? -Yes. They're having so much fun, you see?
What do you want?
I wanted to ask Miss Marcela to the dance next week.
To go to the dance.
Miss Marcela can't go.
Let the lady tell me.
Or are you in charge of her?
Open the door!
Open the door, you dyke.
Lesbian.
Marcela!
Do you know what's happened to your classmates?
Are they sick?
You may sit down.
Come out!
You know what we have to do, right?
Yes.
Are you sure?
Yes.
Do you love me?
With all my soul.
Marcela, it's not too late to live another life.
A life...
that is normal.
Be quiet.
A normal life for me is with you.
Nobody could ever give me what you do.
Nobody.
Ever.
Afterwards, we'll go to Buenos Aires, where nobody knows us.
Yes.
I haven't seen Elisa in days.
She's left.
Where to, may I ask?
To Havana.
With some relatives.
She's already set sail.
Goodbye. I'm going inside.
Wait.
They say your friend has left.
Yes.
A few days ago.
To Cuba.
Are you by yourself?
And the firewood is running out.
It was Elisa who took care of that.
I could bring some firewood.
Thank you.
Today.
Tonight.
There's a praised island
There at the bottom of the sea
It sails with bright stars
The night makes it...
Mario.
I was born on the same day as my cousin Elisa,
but seven years later,
after my mother had already married an English protestant.
Saint George's Church, A Coruña
This can't be, my son. It cannot be!
I know, Father, I know, but the circumstances...
All the records were lost and I was never baptized
because my stepfather, Mr. Hobbs, was opposed it.
When I was eight, they took me to England, and after that...
Do you know what my dream is, Father?
My only dream now that I'm finally home is...
to be baptized, and then marry Marcela.
Immediately, my son. Tomorrow.
-Really, Father? -Yes.
JUNE, 1901
Mario...
Do you take Marcela, here present, to be your lawfully wedded wife,
according to the rite of our Holy Mother Church?
If so, answer "I do."
I do.
Marcela...
Do you take Mario, here present, to be your lawfully wedded husband,
according to the rite of our Holy Mother Church?
If so, answer "I do."
I do.
I now declare you man and wife,
in the name of the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Amen.
...and she will listen to me.
Come on.
What can I do for you?
Marcela, my child...
we heard that you got married.
Yes, Father.
In A Coruña.
At St. George's Church.
Father Cortiella married us.
And... could we meet your husband?
He's resting.
It will just be a moment.
Look, Marcela...
We have been told that...
as strange as this sounds...
that you are married to...
to Elisa.
To Elisa dressed as a man.
That's absurd!
To Elisa dressed as a man?
That's why you're all here?
His name is Mario.
He's Elisa's cousin.
They're first cousins, they look very alike.
They're almost identical.
-Anything else? -You should ask him to come out.
I ought to...
examine him.
Examine him closely.
Why do you meddle in other people's lives?
Is there no one who needs their last rites or treatment for a cold?
Want to know something, Father?
Something that persuades you that Mario is a man, and you as well.
In a few months, you'll see for yourself.
I'm having a baby.
Mario's child,
my husband's child.
I hope you will baptize him, Father.
Now leave.
The weather is turning quite nasty.
We'll have to leave sooner than we thought.
If only we could go to Buenos Aires tomorrow.
I'm tired, I'm going to lie down.
Elisa, come out if you're a man!
Come out, you whore!
Whore! Come out, you whore!
Whore!
Are you all right?
PASSENGER LIST
I suppose you know why I sent for you.
They're lies, Father.
Nothing but lies.
People in Dumbría invent all kinds of things to damge our reputation.
It's a blatant lie.
Do you realize the position you've put me in?
Do you realize that what you two have done...
is a complete lie?
And that you and that wretched woman will both rot in hell!
Father, please.
I have no choice...
but to do this, Mario,
or whoever the hell you are!
Guards!
Father, I'll begin.
Don't do this, Father, please.
I beg you, don't do this.
If you are a man...
prove it.
Please.
No!
I'm a hermaphrodite, I swear! I'm a hermaphrodite!
Damn you, woman.
The fury of all the archangels
shall fall on you and on your...
on that woman!
She's my wife...
and her name is Marcela.
Read the story of Elisa and Marcela,
a marriage without a man.
Look at this.
This isn't what human beings do.
Did you see this?
What about the priest?
It's astonishing.
Good evening.
Okay, all in order.
You can go.
Good night. You may go on.
Good night. Thank you.
PORTO. DECEMBER, 1901
The chicken! In the oven!
The cod is ready!
Hey, hey!
What's this? Wake up!
How much are we short?
We've got enough for one fare.
In two months...
Two months.
Severa has passed away
And the streets of Mouraria
Weep with anger and pain
And the streets of Mouraria
Weep with anger and pain
A black shawl, a black shawl
Black like the new moon
A black shawl, a black shawl
Black like the new moon
As black as the darkest night
You two are under arrest in the name of the Portuguese government.
No.
She hasn't done anything!
Be careful, she's...
Shut up and keep moving!
Come on, walk!
Here I have a lawsuit from the Court of A Coruña...
which says that you are a woman called Elisa,
and that, with a false identity,
you managed to get married to Marcela...
and entered Portugal.
I'm Mario.
Please, I don't have all day.
What is this comedy that you and this woman have concocted?
That woman is my wife.
You Spaniards are always so stubborn, so pig-headed, so loud-mouthed.
Please, sir, she... my wife...
has nothing to do with all this.
She knows nothing.
She thinks that I'm a hermaphrodite, that I...
Please, stop,
Elisa, Mario, whatever your name is.
I'm not an ignorant parish priest from a village in Galicia
who you and your friend can fool that easily.
If I tell the guards right now...
to take you to the men's prison cell,
how long do you think it will take them to find out what you are?
How long?
Not long...
I guess.
Are you pregnant?
Yes?
Come.
Come here.
Eat.
What will happen to us?
What are we accused of?
Transvestism.
Blasphemy.
Falsifying documents.
And your friend is accused of being an accomplice.
That's just across the border.
But first, you have to answer the charges on this side.
You'll be tried here,
and then transferred to Galicia.
It's all my fault. Marcela is innocent, I swear.
She's expecting a child.
A child?
Put a dress on.
I'll tell them to put you in the women's building.
Can I be with her?
Yes.
Thank you.
You're a good person.
You're welcome.
That's what my wife says when she's about to upset me.
Go, go, go.
Leave.
Before I regret it
and lock you up with those savages.
Go on.
Marcela.
Mario.
I'm Elisa.
Elisa.
What's going to happen now?
I don't know.
But we're together.
Together, yes.
Forgive me.
I said I would protect you...
-and look where we are. -No, Elisa, shh.
You don't have to apologize.
We'll get out of here.
We should have left a long time ago.
Maybe.
I'm scared that our baby will be born here.
The warden will help us.
He seems to be a good man.
We need more than just a good man.
Keep still.
Perfect.
Ready?
Have you read about those two women that got married?
If we send them back to Spain, they'll be sentenced to prison for 20 years.
It was made with great affection. Please give this to them.
Of course, I'll deliver it to them.
I have a gift for the child of the Spanish women.
Please give them this.
It brings good luck.
That's enough touching. Let's have some order here.
Elisa...
It's coming!
Are you sure?
Yes.
There's the head. It's coming!
Breathe.
Look, here it comes! Go, push.
Push hard! Come on!
Now, this is it. One last time!
So much hair!
Right?
Hello.
Oh, nice and healthy.
A girl. It's a girl.
What's her name?
-Ana. -Oh, she's beautiful.
GOVERNOR'S PALACE, PORTO
Commissioner, what's this story about the two Spanish women that got married?
My wife won't stop going on about it.
She even wants to visit them in prison.
They've had a lot of visitors,
that is true.
The Spanish authorities are pressuring me.
They want to try them in A Coruña.
I think they want to make an example of them both.
They're not criminals, they're two women who are--
Stupid.
This cod is so bland.
What's the current situation?
One of them gave birth to a baby girl in prison.
Gave birth in prison?
Just what we needed.
Governor...
If we hand them over to the Spanish authorities,
they'll get ten to 20 years in jail.
Can I count on your esteemed help so that doesn't happen?
Done legally, of course.
Even if it's just to annoy the Spanish.
Your Excellency, count on me.
Try this cod and tell me if it isn't bland.
No, thank you, Governor.
We have enough for both fares, Marcela.
As soon as we get out of here...
If we leave here, they'll hand us over to the authorities.
Something's wrong with her.
It's the humidity...
and this place.
Give her to me.
No.
What's wrong?
Come here.
She's burning up.
A doctor!
We need a doctor!
It's the baby! A doctor!
Shh, calm down.
Listen...
The baby has pneumonia.
We have to lower her fever or she'll die.
They can come with me to my house.
Let's go to my house.
Get some sleep.
-Well? -How are they?
I think she's out of danger.
Now they're sleeping.
The baby is very beautiful.
I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us.
It's a privilege to have met you.
Most people wouldn't say that.
We're not most people.
Right?
Right.
You don't have children?
No.
I can't detain you two any longer, Elisa.
But if I let you go, you'll be deported.
I know.
If I were to let you go...
This is only an example.
...the day before the boat leaves.
And on the release papers, I put a date of, let's say...
two days later.
But first we have to let them recover.
Yes.
Oh, you earn more.
More money coming in.
The others don't matter.
We have to find a way to resolve things.
Where's Ana?
She's with Flor.
I asked her to take care of her until we're ready.
Marcela, are you okay?
Is something wrong?
I thought you'd be happy that we're leaving.
I am.
Believe me.
You don't seem it.
Soon we'll be out of this prison.
This prison is fine.
The problem is what's outside.
Where we are carnival freaks.
Where people stare at us.
Where they laugh at us.
Where there's no escape.
And there never will be.
That's why we got married and came up with Mario.
That's why I had my daughter.
I thought they'd believe us then.
How could I do this to my daughter?
How could I?
-My love... -Elisa.
Listen to me.
Despite the fact that I love you more than my own life,
if you choose to stay here with your daughter, I'll understand.
I'll wait for you forever, Marcela. Forever.
Don't you understand?
She's the one I'm leaving behind. Her.
Thank you.
Elisa, tell her that we'll tell the child who her mother is.
Yes, I'll tell her.
Look after her...
and look after yourself.
I hated you, you know?
For many years.
-I can imagine. -But they were very good parents.
The best.
I knew they would be.
Was it worth it?
All this?
The wedding, the mockery?
Going to prison?
Abandoning me?
Was it worth it?
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE WAS LEGALIZED IN SPAIN IN 2005.
TODAY, IT IS LEGAL IN ONLY 25 COUNTRIES ACROSS THE WORLD.
IN 72 COUNTRIES, HOMOSEXUALITY IS CRIMINALIZED:
IN 14 OF THEM, IT IS PUNISHED WITH 14 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON.
IN 13 OF THEM, WITH THE DEATH PENALTY.
ELISA AND MARCELA'S MARRIAGE WAS NEVER ANNULLED.