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Illiterate

Name: Illiterate
Director: Moisés Sepúlveda
Released: 2014
Duration: 73 min

Representation Score

9.1/10

Excellent

2014

Director

Moisés Sepúlveda

Runtime

73 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Moisés Sepúlveda’s drama is a nuanced character study that centers on the experiences of underrepresented women. It excels by going beyond simple inclusion to explore the intersection of individual ability to act and systemic barriers. The film's standout feature is its challenge to traditional gender hierarchies. By removing male influence, it delves deeply into the emotional and intellectual worlds driven by women. However, the narrative remains somewhat limited in its explicit depiction of specific identities, such as LGBTQ orientations, and could benefit from broader religious or cultural representation.

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Category Breakdown

Does Illiterate have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film highlights a close, intergenerational friendship between two women. Though specific LGBTQ identities are not explicitly mentioned, the story challenges traditional heterosexual norms by emphasizing female companionship without male presence.

How does Illiterate portray gender?

Excellent

Women's independence and professional drive are central to the story. Ximena and Jackeline's actions challenge stereotypes of women as passive subjects, showing them as active agents in their own lives.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Illiterate?

Good

Set in a Latin American context, the film offers meaningful representation of non-Anglo-Saxon identities. It focuses on the cultural nuances of its characters, avoiding a predominantly white perspective.

How does Illiterate represent religion and culture?

Good

The story questions Western ideas of progress by portraying illiteracy as a nuanced condition. It explores the complexity of family structures through themes of abandonment and personal truth.

Does Illiterate include disability representation?

Good

Illiteracy is portrayed with sensitivity, avoiding ridicule. The film avoids using it as an inspirational tale, instead highlighting the systemic and psychological burdens faced by Ximena.

Present on Screen

Challenges traditional gender hierarchies through strong women's ability to drive the story.
Offers a sensitive portrayal of illiteracy as a complex condition.
Effectively deconstructs traditional patriarchal family structures.

Limited or Absent

Could provide more explicit detail about specific LGBTQ+ identities.
Expanding the scope to include broader religious or cultural representations.

Official Synopsis

Ximena is an illiterate woman in her fifties, who has learned to live on her own to keep her illiteracy as a secret. Jackeline, is a young unemployed elementary school teacher, who tries to convince Ximena to take reading classes. Persuading her proves to be an almost impossible task, till one day, Jackeline finds something Ximena has been keeping as her only treasure since she was a child: a letter Ximena's father left when he abandoned her many years before. Thus, the two women embark on a learning journey where they discover that there are many ways of being illiterate, and that not knowing how to read is just one of them.

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