THE MILK OF SORROW (LA TETA ASUSTADA) New Lights

Winner of the Golden Bear for best film at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival, this exquisitely original allegory details the lingering trauma from the decades-long conflict in Peru that was passed on through la teta austada – milk of sorrow – to women including the beautiful, enigmatically silent Fausta (Magaly Solier). The film begins with a sublime, fable-like scene: Fausta’s peasant mother is singing a mournful song about horrible violence suffered at the hands of terrorists. A moment later, she passes away. We follow Fausta’s awkward attempt to bury her mother after having heeded the advice of her mother’s neighbors and inserted a potato into her vagina to protect herself against future violations. In the hands of a lesser talent, this might be grim stuff, but Peruvian directora Claudia Llosa (MADEINUSA) balances grave subject matter with an elegant lyricism and unexpected bursts of comedy.