NFR Project: 'Modesta' (1956)

NFR Project: “Modesta”

Dir: Benjamin Doniger

Scr: Benjamin Doniger, Luis A. Maisonet, Rene Marques

Pho: Luis A. Maisonet

Ed: Paul Falkenberg

Premiere: 1956

35:55

This remarkable little film shows us a way of using cinema to implement an agenda.

Read Daniel Eagan’s essay at the National Film Registry here; it is good and comprehensive about this film and the context in which it was made.

It is but one of 65 short films made by Puerto Rico’s Office of Community Education between 1950 and 1975. These informational films were directed at rural audiences, seeking to improve their lot.

Here we have a tale of primitive feminism. A husband comes home and disrespects his wife. She hits him in the head with a stick, driving him away. She becomes the leader of the local group of women, who all take up sticks in solidarity with her. They and the men confront each other; the men back down.

A simple story, well and efficiently told, using local talent in front of and behind the camera, and sometimes utilizing non-acting locals. Director Benjamin Doniger was an experienced cinematographer – he had worked for director Robert Flaherty on Louisiana Story (1948) -- and he, straightforward and efficient, tells us a story.

The NFR Project is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: One Froggy Evening.