Name: Bajo un mismo rostro
Genre: Drama
Duration: 1 h 53 min
Rating: 6.6
Cast: Mirtha Legrand, Silvia Legrand, Jorge Mistral

The most difficult change of character to swallow in this soap opera is that one of Inés, our protagonist. After something like fifty years (1962) from the making of this movie and NO REVIEWS in IMDb since then..., I assume that nobody will care too much if I write an indiscretion about the script, like revealing the end or some other nasty surprise.

Anyhow, from now on, consider that I will start by writing a SPOILER...

* * * As I started this review talking about the sudden change of character of our protagonist, I want to make it clear that it seems practically impossible for Inés, this beautiful, prim and proper woman totally in love with her lover, to become all of a sudden an expensive, deluxe call girl and as a guy in a nightclub said about her: "The top expert woman in Buenos Aires to clean men's bank accounts"...

* * *

After being through with the spoiler I continue.

Let's clarify now the very old fashioned premises this movie was based upon (a 50 year lapse have changed completely the world and its morals --save in the Bible Belt of the United States). In 1962 women were still supposed to "belong" to ONE MAN ONLY and most preferably to her LEGAL HUSBAND... (church ceremony, white dress, as many children as possible, a gorgeous kitchen, washing machine, toaster, blender et al, where she would, happily, spend most of her life, etc.).

This movie was played by these beautiful twin sisters, actresses very well know at the time in Argentina. It's quite difficult to place them apart because their features are practically the same, at least in photography. One sister plays the nun (false eyelashes included, Mirtha Legrand couldn't be upstaged by sister Silvia) although Silvia wears the most outrageous false eyelashes on this southern part of planet earth, besides being overly made up and overly coiffed with a vengeance.

Silvia is Inés in the story and she starts the film as a model in an Haute Couture house, enjoying life with her lover, to whom she's extremely attached and in love with and convinced that she will marry this man SOON (he promised her so).

We must remember that in 1962 for a respectable woman to be a LOVER of a man, it was unthinkable (and she WAS his lover...).

Woops! another SPOILER is about to take place!!!

* * *

But in this life nothing that seems perfect can last too long... The lover is A PIMP that exploits naive women falling for his --physical assets?-- although I must confess I didn't find him that special..., but anyhow, the actor playing the part was, to my understanding, the best performer of them all. 

To continue the story, from one scene to the next, Inés becomes that cool seductress, man eater woman I mentioned at the beginning.

* * * End of the second SPOILER...

To finish this review as suddenly as Inés's change of life (I don't want to extend too much my review), I think the end has a very fascinating twist to it worthy of having spent almost two hours watching this old movie (although quite interesting to understand the social limitations women suffered at the time).

I was surprised to learn that the script was adapted by a famous Argentinian writer of that time, a Silvina Bullrich, from a well known novel.

Silvia Legrand abandoned her movie career when getting married and Mirtha continued (by now she has a 75 year career trajectory and almost 90 years of age and --at least in pictures and on television-- she looks quite beautiful for her age (and perfectly clear minded, since she's the hostess of a TV program that so far had lasted 45 years).

Well, enough is enough. Watch this movie, learn about the mores of past times in Argentina, enjoy a bit of Buenos Aires streets and city life (location shots) of 1962 and if you pay attention to the plot, you won't be able to stop watching till the bitter end (surprising and bittersweet end).

Spanish-language cinema across Spain and Latin America is united by its engagement with history, cultural identity, and social transformation. In Spain, films often balance artistic experimentation with popular genres while reflecting on memory, politics, and family. In Latin America, cinema has been deeply tied to questions of colonial legacy, resistance, and community resilience, ranging from intimate dramas to bold political allegories.

Ana Torrent in The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

Inés works as a model at a female fashion store when she's introduced to Jorge a.k.a. Bob, a gigolo who romances her and gradually pushes her into prostitution. Her only confidant is her twin sister Elizabeth who is a nun at a convent.

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Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Mirtha Legrand and Silvia Legrand in Bajo un mismo rostro (1962)

Bajo un mismo rostro

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