Josefina In 'The Old Man Who Read Love Stories'

‘Although Josefina is central to the plot, she is never presented as a convincing character’. Do you agree?

Rolf de Heer’s ‘The Old Man Who Read Love Stories’ portrays the profound emotion through romantic literature, and the appreciation of life’s simple pleasures. Each and every character within the film differs from one another. Through the beliefs and values of the Shuar, to the way things get done with the European. Josefina, the films only female character, is a beautiful resident of the village despite being exploited by the Mayor as a prostitute. Josefina is without doubt central to the plot and is further presented as a convincing and influential character as the film progresses. Her sense of confidence and independence eventually
leads to her mustering courage to escape the harsh clutches in order to continue her relationship with the far kinder and more loving Antonio Bolivar. Both characters, brought up in different way, experience a never-changing connection through their love for literature and one another, which leads into their own happily ever after. De heer’s ‘The Old Man Who Read Love Stories’ depicts the feature pure-hearted yet naïve characters who are trying to function as best they can in a corrupt world.

Josefina is a headstrong yet romantic woman who is treated extremely cruelly by the unscrupulous Mayor, restricting Josefina while she yearns for freedom.
As she is the only major female character within the film, De heer portrays the innocence that is embedded within Josefina, a character that does not belong in the town of El Idilio nor with the presence of the injudicious Mayor and his regulations placed upon her. De heer not only portrays the innocence of this female character, but through the fundamentally kind-hearted man Antonio Bolivar. Despite his past, Antonio wishes to live a life full of happiness and joy, living without regrets and staying out of trouble. He accomplishes this by Josefina’s love of literature, which affects Antonio convincing him into reading these love stories. Antonio’s love for these stories deepens, as it does with Josefina, symbolizing the happy ending he wishes to spend with her as it ends in every book he reads, “It was a kiss of impassioned intensity. A kiss to remember their lives by”. De heer shows that the influence of Josefina has led to courage and confidence in Antonio, making him believe in opportunities and doing things he once thought he could never do, further presenting Josefina as a character convincing Antonio to believe and
destine.

Antonio, who founds it quite difficult to interpret some stories, is willing to try harder and harder in order for him to understand the significance of these love stories and their meaning. He reads each word on their own, making sure he understands them first before he moves along, “Ar-dent-ly”, showing the passion he has for these love stories, further symbolizing that he will not give up on Josefina as well. However, the presence of the Major is constantly restricting Antonio into being able to live a happy life. Threating his home, and mocking his reading, the mayor is a ruthless and cold-hearted person who only thinks of himself, “It says knock you idiot!”. Josefina, despite being the Mayors virtual captive for most of the film, eventually musters the courage to escape his clutches in order to continue her relationship with the far kinder and more loving Antonio. Through this, there is a sense of hope within the film. Josefina creates an atmosphere of love, teaching us the appreciation we must have over things, further teaching and showing Antonio what he has been longing for, - love. Her presence within the film informs readers that this film may end in a happy ending, despite the living and economic conditions characters are experiencing.

For one to be able to move on, they use their past to make decisions.
While some use their past, others think of a happy future with someone they want to spend the rest of their life with, and this is what Antonio does. Antonio uses Josefina as a guide, a conscience, a love story, in order to take action so he can eventually fulfill and turn this flashback into presence and reality. His constant flashbacks of Josefina encourage Antonio and influence him of a happy life he has wanted to spend, one with no constraints or input from others, “It was the purest love without purpose other than love itself. Without tenure or jealousy”. Here, de Heer portrays that Josefina is particularly susceptible to being manipulated by Antonio’s own desires, that she is ultimately a character in Antonio’s love story. While Antonio’s thoughts, mutterings and viewpoints are consistently made known to us, we are not given similar access to Josefina’s thoughts. As a result, her motivations are often seem somewhat mysterious. However, de Heer shows that despite not sharing most of her thoughts, her character and actions herself is just as enriching as ones thoughts and opinions, “A man who reads love stories and admits it is less of a fool than a man who beats his wife thinking she loves it”. Here, Josefina complements Antonio’s gentleness and sensuality, while clearly sharing her hatred towards all forms of cruelty. De heer depicts that both Josefina and Antonio are able to understand one another,
which shows that Josefina is indeed central to the film.

Throughout the film, readers are presented with the harsh life characters are facing, through their economic battles and living conditions in the Amazon. The town is poor and run down, and the appearance of characters is just as alike. The presence of love stories is a complete contrast when compared to the town, but has the capability of changing characters for the better. De heer’s use of the presence of Josefina influences Antonio, giving him both motivation and determination. He is able to believe, interpret and understanding the meaning of life and love. De heer exposes that we must appreciate the beauty for things as they are, and believe in order to move on into the future, because without believing, there will be no hope. De heer finishes with Antonio returning to the village, thankfully without the presence of the Mayor. He finds his destined love, Josefina waiting endlessly for him, with the film ending happily, with the couple reading a romance novel together by the lamplight in Antonio’s hut, what now belongs to him.