Movie · 1984 · Drama, Romance · 1h 49m · R · Spanish
Curator score: 6.7/10 (13.2K ratings)
Love against all odds
Overview
In 1847 Buenos Aires, a young noblewoman and a young Jesuit fall in love, much to the disapproval of her family and the Church.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.7/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.73/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
TMDB: 7.1/10
Director
María Luisa Bemberg
Production
GEA Producciones, Impala
Cast
Susú Pecoraro, Imanol Arias, Héctor Alterio, Elena Tasisto, Carlos Muñoz Arosa, Héctor Pellegrini, Juan Leyrado, Cecilio Madanes, Claudio Gallardou, Boris Rubaja, Alberto Busaid, Lidia Catalano, Zelmar Gueñol, Jorge Hacker, Carlos Marchi, Roxana Berco, Alejandra Colunga, Alejandro Marcial, Oscar Núñez, Jorge Ochoa
Curator Review
Verdict
A lush, politically charged historical romance that turns forbidden love into a critique of patriarchy, church power, and state violence. Its appeal is strongest if you like melodrama with conviction, period detail, and a tragic sweep.
Best for
viewers who enjoy forbidden-love period dramas
fans of politically engaged historical melodrama
people interested in Argentine cinema and Latin American history
audiences drawn to tragic romances with strong female leads
Skip if
you want a light or escapist romance
you dislike melodrama or heightened emotional performance
you prefer modern pacing and understated style
you are not in the mood for tragedy or institutional oppression
Overview
Camila is a sweeping historical romance that uses a doomed love affair to expose the machinery of power around it. María Luisa Bemberg stages the story with elegance and anger, making the private passion feel inseparable from the public violence of 19th-century Buenos Aires.
Worth noting
What gives the film its force is the way it frames Camila not as a passive victim but as a woman choosing desire, risk, and defiance in a world built to punish all three. The romance is tender, but the film is equally interested in class, religion, family authority, and the social order that closes in around her.
Bottom line
It can be melodramatic, but that’s part of the point: the emotions are big because the stakes are brutal. If you like period dramas that are romantic, tragic, and politically alive, this is a standout.
Top Letterboxd reviews
celeste (4.5★) · 957 likes
mi mamá me puso camila por esta película y la verdad q me siento muy conectada espiritualmente por las ganas de que me fusilen
agustín (4★) · 856 likes
si dios puso la manzana fue para morder dijo ricky martin y camila asintió
audrey wang (4★) · 756 likes
the original hot priest?
serena (4★) · 717 likes
-que voy a hacer contigo?-lo que usted quiera
MAMITA viva el amor
fran (5★) · 549 likes
que paja ser dama antigua y que el figureti de rosas te cague todos los outfits
1996 · Drama, Romance, War · 2h 42m · R · Curator 6.6/10 (320.2K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium
A tragic romance with lush period atmosphere, memory, and love shadowed by war and history.
Topics
period drama, forbidden romance, historical tragedy, political oppression, Catholic Church, female rebellion, melodrama, Latin American cinema, costume drama, tragic love