Who the Hell Is Juliette?

Who the Hell is Juliette? (Spanish: ¿Quién diablos es Juliette?) is a Mexican 1997 documentary film written and directed by Carlos Marcovich.[1] The film is about Yuliet Ortega, a teenage prostitute who lives in Havana, Cuba and Fabiola Quiroz, a Mexican model.[2][3] Marcovich intentionally misspelled the title character, "Yuliet Ortega", as "Juliette Ortega" in the credits.[4]

Who the Hell is Juliette?
Directed byCarlos Marcovich
Produced byAlameda Films, Simon Bross
Written byCarlos Marcovich
StarringYuliet Ortega
Fabiola Quiroz
Jorge Quiroz
Victor Ortega
Michele Ortega
Distributed byKino International
Release date
  • 27 March 1998 (1998-03-27)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryMexico
LanguageSpanish with English subtitles

Marcovich met Fabiola Quiroz during the shooting of a music video. He met Yuliet Ortega in Cuba and decided that she would be the younger sister of Quiroz in the music video. Marcovich features the similarities of the two women: green eyes and persistent thoughts about their missing fathers.[5] After shooting the music video, he filmed the two women over a period of three years and created the film, Who the Hell is Juliette?[6]

The film was filmed in Cuba, Mexico, and the United States.[7]

Plot

Who the Hell is Juliette? begins with Yuliet Ortega saying that her name on the title card, Juliette Ortega, is misspelled and demanding that it is corrected. The director immediately complies and the card is corrected to Yuliet Ortega. Ortega is a 16-year-old girl who is being taken care of by her grandmother. Her mother committed suicide, while her father left his family and went to the United States. Ortega became a jinetera to support herself.

During the shooting of a music video, Ortega meets 23-year-old Fabiola Quiroz who is a Mexican model. Both Quiroz and Ortega have been abandoned by their fathers and are deeply scarred by what has happened.

Director Carlos Marcovich organizes a reunion for Ortega and her father, who lives in New Jersey.

Finally, to save Ortega from street prostitution, Fabiola Quiroz helps her arrange a modeling interview.

Salma Hayek and Francesco Clemente make guest appearances in the documentary.[8]

Reception

Critical reaction

Entertainment Weekly called the film the "artiest home movie ever made" and was critical about how the subtitles appeared and disappeared too quickly to be easily read.[9] On the other hand, the New York Daily News called the film "a great example of what happens when a film maker follows a subject that intrigues him rather than a pre-set program".[6]

Awards

The documentary received two Ariel Awards.[10] At the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, it received the Latin American Cinema Award.[11]

References
  1. Nichols, Peter M. (2000-09-01). "Home Video; In Stalin Musicals They Sing of Coal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  2. Vice, Jeff (1998-08-26). "Who the Hell is Juliette?". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  3. LaSalle, Mick (1998-10-02). "'Juliette' Leaves a Strong Impression: Teen prostitute holds together poetic film". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  4. "Quien Diablos es Juliette? (Who the Hell is Juliette?) (Unrated) ***". Miami Herald. 1998-05-01. Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  5. The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide. Seattle: Sasquatch Books. 2004. p. 363. ISBN 1-57061-415-6. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  6. Kehr, David (1998-04-01). "A 'Hell of a Look at Latinas' Lives". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  7. "Latino Fest Happenings". New York Daily News. 2000-08-11. Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  8. Shen, Ted (200). "Who the Hell Is Juliette?". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on 2009-08-07. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  9. D'Angelo, Mike (1999-03-19). "Video Review: Who the Hell is Juliette?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  10. McClanahan, Erik (2009-06-01). "Brotherly love: A conversation with "Rudo y Cursi" director Carlos Cuarón". Twin Cities Daily Planet. Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  11. Maslin, Janet (1998-01-26). "Various Guises of Misery in Sundance Winners". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
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