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...
the pain.
Who am I?
Where do I come from?
What is my story?
Who were those women whose names
were always spoken in whispers
when they thought I wasn't listening?
Who were they?
ELISA AND MARCELA
INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY
CHUBUT PROVINCE, ARGENTINA. 1925
May I touch your face?
Mmm.
I suppose there must be things you want to know.
Things?
Everything.
Everything...
is impossible.
Are you in the first year?
I was sick and I had to miss the first few days.
You'd better dry off or you're gonna get sick all over again.
Come on.
Come on!
VANITY IS YOUR WEAKNESS
Will they count against me...
the days I've missed?
I'll speak to them, don't worry.
They all know me here, and my aunt's the director.
Here, let me help you.
Thanks.
Am I hurting you?
No.
Now am I?
No.
-Now? -No!
My name's Elisa.
I'm Marcela.
I like your mole.
This morning, we'll be examining the use of the pronoun.
Enter.
Morning.
Good morning.
Excuse me, Sister,
she's new at the school and got lost.
She was sick, so she missed the first few days.
But she's eager to catch up and she's a very hard worker.
-May she take a seat? -Yes. Thank you, Elisa.
Please come in.
Your name?
Marcela Gracia Ibeas.
Very good. Sit down, please.
Let us continue with our lesson.
People and things, are not only called by their names,
but also by certain words
that take the place of those names.
And so, when we say, for example,
'Bernardo was very content with his Elvira'
and they lived happily together,
'she with him, and he with her,'
the 'he' replaces Bernardo and the 'she' replaces Elvira.
You scared me.
Did I? Sorry.
I was waiting for you.
I live upstairs with my aunt and the nuns.
Didn't I tell you?
-In the school? -Mm-hmm.
I wanted to thank you.
No need for thanks.
Living with the nuns, what's that like?
What do you think?
I don't know.
It's hell on Earth.
The so-called brides of God,
they're a bunch of harpies,
always bickering and arguing.
They're always fighting.
It's like a harem, really.
Everyone is always competing to be the Sultan's favourite.
But there is no Sultan.
There isn't?
I haven't seen him.
So, you don't believe...
in God?
I don't believe in nuns...
or in priests.
I don't believe in the Virgin or the Holy Spirit.
Or...
in God.
And you?
I'm not sure.
I can't believe in anything that doesn't move.
I believe in horses.
I'd give anything to have one.
And mice?
And cats and dogs? Do you believe in them?
And in pigeons...
and snails.
And ants.
Guess you should go inside.
You should get back to the nuns.
Yeah.
Till tomorrow, then.
Till tomorrow.
Good night!
Tomorrow don't forget your umbrella.
I won't.
Who was that girl?
The one who was with you?
From school.
Elisa.
She helped me find my classroom.
Her aunt is the director.
The soup is full of husks.
I don't know how.
I strained it three times.
You strained it?
I know that in school, you must learn, yes,
but not too much.
Not too much, just enough. Hmm?
Hello, Elisa.
Morning, Elisa.
Good morning, Elisa.
And how are you this lovely morning?
Elisa...
Elisa, Elisa, Elisa...
Elisa, Elisa...
You didn't do what I said.
No.
I forgot.
This great Christian victory
at the Cave of Covadonga
was the product of bravery and of Christian faith,
a faith that inspired the Christian soldiers
and ultimately gave them the strength
to vanquish the Moors,
who were, frankly, barbarians.
# Isabel and Fernando... #
# Were excellent monarchs #
-# They kicked out of Spain... #
-Wanna see my room?
the dark-skinned Moors.
Right now?
Sure, why not?
Elisa...
Who's with you?
Marcela. She's new, Sister Clara.
And... what does she look like?
She's, uh...
um... a redhead.
More carrot-coloured, really.
With lots of freckles.
And she's very fat!
-Elisa! -And she limps.
Don't think I don't know you, Elisa.
I know you too well.
This is where I read and draw.
At least in here no one bothers me.
Do you want me to leave?
No, I didn't mean you.
I meant all the nuns and my aunt.
Know what they keep telling me all day long?
What?
That I should find a man and get married soon.
Or I'll be stuck here forever, with them.
Every single day,
they tell me that.
My father thinks I'm wasting my time at school.
He thinks that teachers aren't respectable.
And I should get married
before someone gets me pregnant.
What do you say when he says that?
And you, what do you say to them?
I asked you first.
When they say that, I...
Uh...
I say what they want to hear.
Me too.
But the fact is I think I'd do anything
rather than have to marry a man.
Anything.
I'm not sure if I'll get married or not.
Well!
There's a lot you're not sure about, isn't there?
If there's a God or not,
if you'll get married or not.
So, are you sure about anything at all?
I was living in an orphanage until I was ten.
I'm sure of that.
Sleeping with 40 other girls in potato sacks.
Rats roaming everywhere.
Having to eat watered-down soup full of dead spiders.
All I knew was misery...
and filth...
and praying.
Then one morning, out of nowhere,
a woman came and said she was my mother.
My real mother.
She took me to a house
where I met a man who said he was my father.
They never hugged me...
or explained why they'd...
let me believe they were dead.
I still don't know if they are my real parents.
And if I don't know that...
how can I know if I believe in God?
Or in getting married? Or anything?
Forgive me, Marcela...
I didn't know.
I have class.
I'm sorry.
Will you forgive me?
Good evening.
My name's Elisa, I'm a classmate of Marcela's.
She lent me a book this morning,
and I just wanted to return it to her, if I may?
-I'll give it to her. -Thank you.
-Good night. -Good night.
It's from that classmate of yours.
You left it behind, she said.
There are some books that bring nothing but trouble.
'Dear Marcela...'
I will never knowingly hurt you.
I swear it.
Trust me.
Trust me and forgive me.
'Yours, Elisa.'
Marcela...
What your father said isn't true.
About books.
What?
About books, what?
I read in secret...
when your father isn't looking.
I don't believe it.
Emilia Pardo Bazan.
THE BURNING QUESTION
I dreamt that...
-You first. -No, you.
I dreamt of you.
That's funny.
I dreamt of you, too.
Really?
Yes.
You won't tell me your dream?
Nuh-uh.
Never.
And yours?
I won't either.
Do you know the one dream I've had my whole life?
What?
Sometimes when I stand here...
right by the ocean...
I close my eyes and I dream.
You do?
Mm-hmm.
I dream that I'm riding a horse,
and I cross the ocean.
Then I reach the other side and...
and it's Argentina.
And I just keep on riding...
for a long, long time.
And I never get tired.
It's absurd because I've never been on a horse in my life...
and I'm terrified of the ocean.
Marcela... what on Earth are you...
This is real, right?
It's not a dream, is it?
In dreams, it's never this cold.
You have a long way to go to get back to the school.
Oh, I don't mind.
See you tomorrow.
Marcela, wait!
-There's so much I want to tell you... -Elisa.
My parents are waiting for me.
Then just this one thing.
What?
If I were to die right now...
my day with you by the sea...
would be the happiest of my life.
Someday, I'll get you that horse.
No, don't. She's studying...
-Not another word. -I'm fine.
She's staying and that's final.
You can put that away.
You're not going to school today.
Why not?
You'll stay with you mother, she's not well.
I'm perfectly fine.
She doesn't need to miss her classes.
Marcela will be staying right here.
That's the end of it.
The country of Portugal,
is divided into three distinct regions,
the northern, the central,
and the southern region,
consisting of the Alentejo and the Algarve.
The northern region is located
between the Minho and the Serra da Estrela.
Shh.
You know something?
I have moles all over my body.
You think one day...
you might show them to me?
Hmm.
Wait here.
'The shadows revealed nothing except
for the enormity of its proportions,
hiding its outline and details
in the darkness of the scene.'
Who's this?
Why is she here?
It's Elisa.
With the work I didn't finish...
since you wouldn't let me go to school.
Get out.
Daughter...
We need to have a little talk.
What about?
-I can't miss class again... -Yes, you can.
Now, seeing how your education is so important to you,
your mother and I have decided
to send you to a boarding school...
in Madrid.
-Yeah. -It's a good school, dear.
You'll learn much more than here.
In three years, you'll be a teacher.
Boarding school or convent, you decide.
I would have preferred the convent,
but your mother insisted.
-Hold on there. -Let me go!
-Let me go! Leave me alone! -Where do you think...
-Stop! -Let me go!
Let me go!
Dear Marcela...
Four weeks, three days
and nine hours have gone by...
since the last time I smelled you.
Yet I picture you so close to me in my thoughts...
I can 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 page I fill with words that carry me to you...
This pen...
This ink...
I dream of you often, Marcela...
when I'm awake.
I draw you...
and so I see you, wherever I look.
I miss you so much.
So much.
I want to hold you...
and kiss your mole.
Your faithful one...
Elisa.
Dear Elisa...
I just read your letter.
It was almost like touching you again.
I try to imagine myself by your side as you write.
Write to me, I mean.
I sit and watch...
I watch every gesture...
Every word that you write.
And I study your hands...
Your moles...
The pauses you take...
Your impatience...
and mine.
I imagine all our letters
spread out like a magic carpet.
With us lying on top of it, naked.
As if, somehow,
all these words we've written...
could protect us
from the cold...
from other people...
from the distance between us.
Each time I receive another one of your letters,
I hug it before opening it.
I embrace you.
And your words calm my impatience...
and ease my fear of never seeing you again
or that one day,
you'll stop writing back.
Your words of love sink into my skin.
I think of my moles as your words.
I love you so much, Elisa.
COUSO, GALICIA THREE YEARS LATER
The chestnut...
is a fruit...
whose shell...
is reddish in colour.
The shape of the chestnut...
is very similar...
to the shape of a heart.
Now draw a chestnut.
What's this?
So you've already finished your drawings?
I have the fastest class in Couso.
Inside, now!
And who is this?
You.
You've been with me all this time.
And you've been with me every minute.
You should apply to the school at Couso,
it's only ten kilometres from mine.
Ten kilometres...
I'll get them to transfer me so I can be with you.
Yes...
Yes. With me.
With you.
-We'll be together. -We'll be together.
-Together. -Together.
-Forever. -Forever.
I love you.
-Good morning. -Good morning!
You may sit.
CALO, GALICIA. FEBRUARY 1901
I am Miss Marcela.
Now tell me your names.
I'm Pedro.
Rosa.
My name is Celso.
My name is Rocio.
I'm Rosalia.
And the tree,
do you know what it's called?
THE HOLY TRINITY
GOD - HOLY SPIRIT - SON
-Well, look what we have here. -Don't.
Could you give us a hand?
-We won't bite. -Come on, come on. Keep moving.
The...
Bo-Dy...
of...
the...
snail...
is...
soft.
The body...
of the snail...
is...
soft.
I knew you'd be here.
I always know when you're near.
What's the letter about?
My cousin, Mario.
He died.
I guess he drowned.
Drowned?
I barely even knew him.
He lived in England.
Hmm.
I was his only family.
Shall we eat?
Yes, I'm starving.
May I?
Oh, I don't dance.
What do you mean, you don't dance?
Just one.
Don't worry about your friend,
I'll dance with her later if she wants.
Sometimes I feel so afraid.
Elisa...
we have to play along.
Pretend that we're just like everyone else.
That we're no different.
Or they'll never leave us alone.
You know it's true.
I know.
That's probably true.
Oh, did I tell you?
Cecelia!
-There! -And to think they're teachers.
It's the children I worry about.
Did you hear about those two?
Those two girls?
Everybody liked their dance.
What is it?
I wanted to invite Marcela to the dance next week.
The dance.
She can't make it, I'm afraid.
Let her tell me that herself.
Or are you her boss?
Open the door!
You perverted bitch, open the door!
Whore.
Marcela!
Do you know what's happened to your classmates?
Are they all sick or something?
Be seated.
Who's there?
So, you know what we have to do?
Yes.
Are you sure?
Yes.
Do you love me?
With all of my being.
It's not too late for you to live
another kind of life, Marcela.
One that's...
-normal. -Shh!
Quiet.
For me, a normal life is with you.
You're the one who gives me what I need.
Just you.
No one else.
Then we'll go to Buenos Aires,
where no one knows us.
Yeah.
Quite a while since I've seen your friend Elisa.
She's gone.
Ah...
Where to?
If you don't mind my asking.
Havana.
With some relatives.
They've sailed.
Oh.
Well, goodbye.
I'm going inside.
Wait.
I hear your friend's gone away.
Yes.
A few days ago.
To Cuba.
So, you're alone?
And I'm running out of firewood.
Elisa was in charge of that.
I can bring you firewood.
Thank you.
Today...
Or tonight.
# There is a prize island #
# There at the bottom of the sea #
# It's filled with bright stars #
Mario...
I was born the same day as my cousin Elisa,
but seven years later,
after my mother married an English protestant.
CHURCH OF SAINT GEORGE, A CORUNA
But this cannot be, my son.
It cannot be.
I know, Father, I know,
but those were the circumstances.
All the records were lost and I was never baptised
because my stepfather, Mr. Hobbs, was opposed it.
When I was eight, they took me to England, and then...
Do you know what my dream is, Father?
My one dream...
now that I'm finally back home...
is to be baptised,
and then to marry Marcela.
It shall be done at once, my son,
tomorrow morning.
-Really, Father? -Certainly.
JUNE 1901
Mario...
will thou take Marcela, here present,
for your lawful wife
according to the rights of the Holy Mother Church?
Now the bridegroom responds: 'I will.'
I will.
Marcela...
will thou take Mario, here present,
for your lawful husband
according to the rights of the Holy Mother Church?
The bride responds: 'I will.'
I will.
I now join you in holy matrimony
in the name of the Father, and the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Amen.
I'm telling you.
Let's not be hasty. We shall see, we shall see.
How can I help you?
Marcela, my child...
we heard that you married someone.
Yes, Father.
-In A Coruna. -Hmm.
-Church of St. George. -Ah.
Father Cortiella married us.
And... may we meet this husband of yours?
He's resting right now.
It shouldn't take long.
See, Marcela, people are saying...
We've been told that...
as strange as it sounds...
that you're married to...
Well, actually to...
to Elisa.
Elisa, disguised as a man.
Come on!
Elisa disguised as a man?
That's what all this is about?
His name's Mario.
He's Elisa's cousin.
They look so much alike, he could be her brother.
They're like twins almost.
-Is that it? -He needs to come out and see us.
I really ought to...
examine him.
I mean, physically.
Why must you meddle in other people's lives?
Shouldn't you be out giving the sick comfort...
or the last rites?
You know something, Father?
If you're doubting whether Mario is really a man,
if you're not convinced...
wait a few more months and you will be.
I'm having a child.
Mario's child...
my husband's child.
And I hope you'll baptise him, Father.
Now go on.
The weather is turning bad.
Uh...
We'll have to leave sooner than we thought.
If only we could just leave for Buenos Aires tomorrow.
I'm going to lie down, I'm tired.
Elisa, come out if you're a man!
Come out!
You whore!
Lovely place, Argentina.
A fine place to raise children, from what I've read about it.
Yes, very fine.
How many children do you have?
PASSENGER LIST
I suppose you know why I've asked you to come here.
They're lies, Father.
Nothing but slanders.
The villagers, they will say anything to discredit us, anything.
It's an outrageous lie.
Do you realize how this made me look?
What you did was a travesty.
It is the worst kind of lie.
And for it, you and that wretched girl
are going to both rot in hell forever!
Please, Father.
You've left me no choice.
I have to, Mario...
or whoever you are!
You may enter!
Father, I will proceed.
Please don't let them do this to me, Father.
Don't let them, I beg you.
If you're a man...
then we need proof.
Please.
It's not what it looks like. Father, I'm a hermaphrodite.
You are damned, woman!
The fury of all the archangels
shall fall upon you and your...
your...
That woman!
She's my wife.
Her name's Marcela.
Read the story of Elisa and Marcela,
a marriage without a man.
You've read this?
Is that the behaviour of human beings?
You've seen this?
-Unbelievable. -What was the priest thinking?
-Can't expect him... -It turns your stomach.
Good evening.
Right,
your papers are in order.
-Good night. -Very good. You may proceed.
Thank you. Good night.
PORTO, DECEMBER 1901
Put the chicken in the oven!
Come on! The cod's ready!
Oh! What's this?
What do you think you're doing?
Wake up! Get a move on!
How much do we have?
Enough for one ticket.
Two more months...
Two months.
# Maria 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 #
By order of the Portuguese government,
you're both under arrest.
No, wait.
She's done nothing.
She's done nothing!
Careful with her, she's...
-Be quiet! Keep moving! -Wait...
Looks like someone got herself into trouble.
I hate that bastard who didn't come for me.
Keep moving!
I have here a warrant from the court in A Coruna...
Stating that you are not a man.
but a woman...
whose name is Elisa...
and that by using a false identity
you managed to get yourself married to...
Marcela...
then fled to Portugal.
I'm Mario.
Please, I don't have time for this nonsense.
What is the point of this...
this farce that you and this woman have concocted?
That woman, sir, is my wife!
You Spaniards are always so pig-headed,
so... stubborn, so self-righteous.
Please, sir, she... my wife...
She had nothing to do with it.
She knows nothing.
She thinks that I'm a hermaphrodite, sir.
Please, no more of that,
Elisa, Mario, whatever you call yourself.
I'm not some ignorant priest
in a tiny village in Galicia
that you and your friend can make a fool out of.
What would happen if I were to order the guards...
to put you in the same cell as all the men?
How long do you think it would take them
to find out what you are?
Would it take them long?
Hmm?
No.
Not very.
You're pretty far along.
Come.
Eat.
What will happen to us now?
What are we accused of?
Transvestism.
Blasphemy.
Falsifying documents.
Your friend is wanted as an accomplice.
That's on the other side of the border.
First, you'll have to answer charges on this side.
You'll be tried here,
and then...
returned to Galicia.
I'm to blame, not Marcela.
She's innocent. I swear it.
She's gonna have a child.
A child?
Put on a dress.
I'll see to it that you're taken to the women's block.
We'll be together, then?
Yes.
Oh, thank you.
You're a good man.
Well, you're welcome.
That's what my wife says
when she's about to give me upsetting news.
Now, go on.
Get out.
Before I change my mind
and lock you up with those savages.
Go.
Marcela...
Mario.
I'm Elisa.
Elisa.
What will happen to us?
Who knows?
But at least we're together.
Together, yes.
Forgive me.
I said I'd protect us...
Look where we ended up.
Elisa, shh.
You don't need to apologize.
We'll get out of here.
We should have left a long time ago, I suppose.
I guess so.
I'm scared of having it in here.
The warden's looking after us.
He's a good man, I think.
Right now, we need more than a good man.
Now, hold very still.
That's fine.
Ready?
Have you read this?
About the two women who got married?
According to this,
if we send them back to Spain,
they'll be sentenced to 20 years.
Will you give this to them?
It was made with great affection.
Yes, I'll see to it.
This is a gift for the child of the Spanish women,
will you please make sure they get it?
It brings good luck.
Alright, no more touching.
Let's have some order around here.
Elisa...
It's coming!
Are you certain?
Yes.
Come.
It's coming! It's coming!
I can see the head.
Go on, keep breathing.
Keep breathing.
That's right.
And push! That's right. You can do it, big push.
Almost there.
One more time. One last push.
She's got so much hair.
Ah, so adorable.
A girl. It's a girl.
What's her name?
-Ana. -She's beautiful.
GOVERNOR'S PALACE, PORTO
Really, Commissioner,
all this about these Spanish women getting married?
My wife can't seem to talk about anything else.
She even wants to visit them in prison.
They have had a lot of visitors,
it's true.
I'm getting pressure from the Spanish authorities.
They want to try them in A Coruna.
I think they're keen on making an example of them.
They're not criminals, so much as just...
two women who are just...
Idiots.
This fish has no flavour.
How do things stand at the moment?
One of them has given birth to a baby girl.
In the prison?
That's all we needed.
Governor...
if we hand them over to the Spanish authorities...
they'll be facing 10 to 20 years.
Hmm...
Then I will rely on your esteemed abilities
to keep that from happening.
Nothing illegal, of course.
Even if it's just to annoy the Spanish.
Your Excellency...
leave it to me.
Here, try this fish, tell me if you can taste anything.
No, Governor, thank you.
We have enough for the tickets now, Marcela.
As soon as we get out of here.
If we leave here, we'll just be deported.
Something's wrong with her.
It's the damp.
It's this place.
-Let me. -No.
What is it?
Shh. Shh, shh.
She's burning up.
You don't feel that?
A doctor!
We need a doctor here!
It's the baby! A doctor! Hurry!
Shh.
Calm down now.
The baby has pneumonia.
She'll die if we don't get that fever down quickly.
They'll come with me, to my house.
Come with me.
Well, are we feeling better, huh?
Feeling better?
Shh.
Well?
How are they?
Out of danger, I think.
They're sleeping.
She's a darling little girl.
There's no way I can possibly thank you
for all that you've done for us.
The privilege is ours.
Not many others would feel the same.
Well, we're not like many others.
Are we?
No, we're not.
Do you have children?
No.
I can't hold the two of you here any longer, Elisa.
But if I release you, you'll be deported.
I know.
However, if I were to,
just hypothetically...
If I released you the day before the ship sails...
and then I filled in the forms
to say that you were let out...
two or three days later...
But, first,
we must wait and see how well they recover.
Yes.
You earn more,
more money coming in,
Don't worry about the rest of it.
These things have a way of working out.
Where's Ana?
With Flora.
I asked if she'd watch her until we're ready.
Is everything alright?
Is something wrong?
I would have thought you'd be glad we were leaving.
I am.
Believe me.
You don't look it.
We'll never have to set foot in this cell again.
It's not so bad.
It's worse out there.
Where we're circus freaks.
Where they laugh at us.
Stare at us.
Where there's no escape...
Never will be.
And that's why I was Mario
and why we were married.
And why I had my daughter.
We thought it would work.
I can't do this to my daughter.
How could I?
-My love... -Please.
Listen to me.
Although I love you more than my own life...
if you have to stay here with your daughter,
I'll understand.
I'll wait for you forever, Marcela, I swear.
Don't you understand?
I'm leaving her behind...
Ana.
Thank you.
Elisa,
we'll make sure the child knows who her mother is.
Tell her that.
I will.
Take care of her...
and take care of yourself.
Argh!
I hated you,
you know that?
For so many years.
-I can imagine. -But the two of them were good parents.
The best, really.
I knew they were.
Was it worth it?
All this?
The wedding,
the mockery?
The jail cell?
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 PUNISHED:
IN 14 COUNTRIES, IT IS PUNISHED WITH 14 YEARS TO LIFE IN PRISON.
IN 13 COUNTRIES, WITH THE DEATH PENALTY.
ELISA AND MARCELA'S MARRIAGE WAS NEVER ANNULLED.