Oedipus Mayor
Set amidst the rebel wars (representing the Theban plagues) of contemporary Colombia, young Mayor Edipo must mediate a peace deal between conflicting guerrilla groups and the army. It is raining when he leaves. His journey is interrupted when he gets into a shoot-out on a lonely bridge. Returning fire, Edipo somehow escapes. As soon as he gets to town he hears that a prominent leader Layo was brutally slain. No one knows who shot him. Meanwhile, a blind coffin-maker Tiresias wanders town making dire prophecies concerning Edipo's future. It is he who tells the mayor that Layo was murdered by a family member. Edipo's fate is sealed when he gets involved with the beautiful and much older Yocasta, a woman who last had sex thirty years ago with her husband Layo. She got pregnant and bore a son and tragedy ensues.
- Runtime
- 1h 40m
- Released
- 1996
- Country
- Colombia, Spain, Mexico, Cuba
Details
Release year: 1996
Storyline
Set amidst the rebel wars (representing the Theban plagues) of contemporary Colombia, young Mayor Edipo must mediate a peace deal between conflicting guerrilla groups and the army. It is raining when he leaves. His journey is interrupted when he gets into a shoot-out on a lonely bridge. Returning fire, Edipo somehow escapes. As soon as he gets to town he hears that a prominent leader Layo was brutally slain. No one knows who shot him. Meanwhile, a blind coffin-maker Tiresias wanders town making dire prophecies concerning Edipo's future. It is he who tells the mayor that Layo was murdered by a family member. Edipo's fate is sealed when he gets involved with the beautiful and much older Yocasta, a woman who last had sex thirty years ago with her husband Layo. She got pregnant and bore a son and tragedy ensues.
Top credits
Jorge Perugorría — Edipo
Ángela Molina — Yocasta
Francisco Rabal — Tiresias
Jorge Martínez de Hoyos — Cura
Did you know
• Although all of the characters in the film take their names from Oedipus the King, Oedipus himself is never called by name. In the film, he is only addressed as Mayor.
• Ángela Molina won a Fotogramas de Plata for her role.
• The film was shot in Salamina (Caldas) and at the hacienda El Vergel, a 200-year-old mansion still preserved in the capital of Tolima, whose republican style made Jorge Alí Triana fall in love with it, and he did not rest until he was allowed to shoot a part of it. This editorial office was able to visit the Hacienda and see the places where the film was shot. Santiago Vila Mejía recalls that the house was lent after the insistence of the director, who was a close friend of his mother, Alicia, and that knowing that the script was by Gabriel García Márquez would be an event for the family.
User reviews
Not Gabo's best, but interesting nonetheless
Oedipus Upgraded
Technical specs
- Color
- Color
Photos 2
