Who the Hell Is Juliette? (1997)

WHO THE HELL IS JULIETTE? is a flimsy premise for a film, however it certainly demonstrates how an astute director can present a non-linear story with a maximum of artistic beauty and emotional warmth. Carlos Marcovich has created a most unusual quasi-documentary about the making of one of his music videos in Cuban during the early 1990's. To ramp up the sex appeal for this nondescript power ballad, he included sultry fashion model, Fabiola Quiroz. And, while in the process of filming, they met a quirky gamine by the name of Yuliet Ortega who is every bit as sexy. WHO THE HELL IS JULIETTE? meanders through the histories and back stories of the principle characters, and haphazardly reveals their personalities. And, also the movie examines the lives of people who just happen to wander by as the film is being shot. Much of the movie is gorgeously photographed on location in Havana, and the sun, sky, sex, and sea blend to create a heady concoction more potent than a very strong Cuba Libre. Yuliet is a real life character like nothing that has been seen on film. Probably she is a prostitute, but has such a bright and irreverent personality, that is is nearly impossible not to fall for her charms. She is equal parts smoldering sex siren, and headstrong and intransigent adolescent, and although she lives a very complicated life in an infamous Cuban barrio, she seems to give as good as she gets. WHO THE HELL IS JULIETTE? probably will offend as many viewers as it captivates, but I found the film a refreshing and spirited look at very low budget, almost tacky, tropical hedonism.

I just saw it and loved it. In addition to what is posted above, it is funny! I tried to Google what had become of Yuliet Ortega, even the 2007 DVD release left it a mystery. I had no luck finding her fate. I did find a 1999 article about her, then living in Mexico City and without any aspirations or evident employment. She did not take the modeling job mentioned in the film. She was just bumming around the DF and clubbing. In the "Part 3" addendum to the 2007 release, her grandmother refused to talk to the director. Yuliet appeared briefly but revealed nothing. Note: I had no problem with the subtitles (mentioned above) and there were subtitles to the "Part 3". My only complaint is that I couldn't get Spanish subtitles to work, only English.

I was introduced to this film by a friend of mine. What drew me tothe story, more than anything, was the theme of fatherless youngwomen. I, too, was a fatherless young woman up until lastNovember when I finally met my biological father--a physicsprofessor from Venezuela. Fabiola, the beautiful Mexican model, and Yuliet, the beautiful,sassy and broken sixteen year old prostitute from Cuba areamazing to watch. Both young women grew up without knowingtheir biological fathers and carry emotional baggage and painlocked up in their hearts. Although, the subject matter of childprostitution, despair and intense identity crisis seem heavy, thefilm is funny and uplifting. It also is emotionally rich and may verywell make you cry. I found myself wishing the best for both youngwomen. Their beauty and strength of character really struck achord in my heart. Thank you to the director and the young womenwho brought so much to this story.

The movie was ok for the first hour or so. It was nice to see the daily life of poor Cuban community and the beauty of the country. But it was way too long. Personally I found Yuliete quite annoying and didn't like her childish way of story telling.It seems that most people felt the same way...as 2/3 people left within first hour.