Blanca Portillo is Teresa, and Asier Etxeandia, is her inquirer, in this portrait of the Avila saint directed by Paula Ortiz (¨La Novia¨). In Teresa, both characters begin a dialectical, theological and political battle in which two ways of thinking, believing and feeling are exposed and whose resolution only has three options: freedom, prison or the bonfire. Baptized as Teresa Sánchez De Cepeda y Ahumada (28 March 1515 - 4 October 1582), she had a troublesome life with sufferings , sacrifices , raptures and set in times of religious pursue , Reform , Contra-Reform and Santo Oficio. Teresa was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint , Carmelite nun and author during the Counter Reformation , and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer. After a period of apprenticeship and prays , she becomes a reformer in the Carmelite Order of her time and the movement she initiated , later joined by Saint John of the Cross , eventually led to the establishment of the Discalced Carmelites, though neither she nor John were alive when the two orders separated. Saint Teresa carried out mystic attitudes following the example of similar writings of medieval mystics, consisted of directions for examinations of conscience and for spiritual self-concentration and inner contemplation. She claimed that during her illness she rose from the lowest stage, "recollection", to the "devotions of silence" or even to the ¨Mysticism¨ and "devotions of ecstasy", which was one of perfect union with God . During this final stage, she said she frequently experienced a rich "blessing of tears" . She , then began to inflict various tortures and mortification of the flesh upon herself. Set in Castilla and dealing with a thorough interrogation, the struggles against all odds in foundation her convents , claiming that she has visions with Jesus , about the hard reform the Order of Carmelites and , attracting the attention of the Inquisition during the sixteenth century Spain. In the film, the inquisitor investigates the past, and the temptations of Teresa, a woman full of contradictions who questioned everything around her, transgressed the norms of the time and fought for what she believed in. Ortiz freely adapts the work Juan Margoya's play ¨La Lengua en Pedazos¨, based on ¨The Book of Life¨, by Saint Teresa herself. Director Paula Ortiz admitted to being fascinated by this character and said: "I couldn't understand that a nun from 500 years ago knew me better than I knew myself."
Based on the figure of Saint Teresa of Jesus (or Saint Teresa of Ávila), the film shows us passages from the saint's life, introducing us to some stages of her childhood, adolescence and maturity. All through a dialogue between her and a supposed nameless inquisitor, who tests her faith and convictions throughout the entire footage in the form of an interrogation. The movie is a fictional recreation of the real-life trial that the Tribunal of the Holy Office, commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition, opened against her in 1575 AD, when Teresa de Ávila was 60 years old, coincidentally, Blanca Portillo is 60 years old as well. The film turns out to be dull, slow and heavy, getting carried away by splendid images, luxurious cinematography by cameraman Rafa García with too many dark scenes, surreal images and boring dialogues between the two protagonists.
The film unfortunately follows the style of ¨Ray Loriga's Teresa , el cuerpo de Cristo¨ more than the much better ¨Concha Velasco's Teresa de Jesus¨. Therefore, I consider that anyone who wants to know the life of Saint Teresa well should settle on the classic series of Josefina Molina, or even the old film by Juan de Orduña with Aurora Bautista, which is also much better despite the fact that the actors were overacted and very theatrical performances.
Personally and subjectively, despite the great acting, directing and technical work in general, this 'Teresa (2023)' was unable to feel emotion at any time. 'Teresa', despite not being for all audiences, does leave us with quality details. The high-level interpretive duel between Blanca Portillo and Asier Etxeandia is what stands out only. The motion picture was mediocrely directed by Paula Ortiz who previously made other better flicks, such as: ¨De tú ventana a la mía¨, ¨La novia¨, and ¨Al otro lado del río y entre los árboles (2022)¨. Rating Teresa (2023): 4.5/10.
The films regarding this famous Saint are the following: ¨Teresa De Jesús¨(1962) by Juán De Orduña with Aurora Bautista , José Bódalo , Roberto Camardiel , Antonio Durán , Alfredo Mayo. ¨Teresa¨ (2015) by Jorge Dorado with Marian Alvarez , Carla Diaz , Terele Pavez , Antonio De La Torre , Aitiana Sanchez Gijón . ¨Teresa, el cuerpo de Cristo¨ (2007) by Ray Loriga with Paz Vega, Leonor Watling, Geraldine Chaplin, Eusebio Poncela. And the best results to be the TV series ¨Teresa De Jesús¨ (1985) by Josefina Molina with Concha Velasco , Virginia Mataix , Silvia Munt , Maria Massip , Magui Mira.
