Themes: Fathers and Daughters, Orphans, Prostitutes
Main Cast: Yuliet Ortega, Fabiola Quiroz, Victor Ortega, Jorge Quiroz, Michele Ortega
Release Year: 1997
Country: MX
Run Time: 91 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
This award-winning documentary from Mexican cinematographer Carlos Marcovich marked his debut as a director. While filming a video in Cuba starring model Fabiola Quiroz, Marcovich met and was struck by the brashness of a 16-year-old Havana jinetera (child prostitute) named Juliet Ortega whom Fabiola had befriended. Electing to direct a documentary about the girl, Marcovich embarked on a three-year odyssey of following the barrio dwelling orphan, contrasting her life with that of the glamorous Fabiola, who is at the opposite end of the class and economic spectrum. As Juliet's world is revealed, however, it develops that both she and Fabiola were abandoned by their fathers as children, and both have been deeply wounded by the experience. Marcovich then arranges a reunion with Juliet's father, an emgire now living in New Jersey, about whom Juliet has not been told the truth. Ultimately, Fabiola arranges for the beautiful Juliet to get a modeling interview in an effort to rescue her friend from the slums and streetwalking. Actress Salma Hayek, a heroine of Juliet's, appears in the film as herself. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Cast
Yuliet Ortega
Fabiola Quiroz
Victor Ortega
Jorge Quiroz
Michele Ortega
Credit
Eduardo Barajas - Associate Producer, Simon Bross - Associate Producer, Gerardo Garza - Associate Producer, Judith Padlog - Associate Producer, Carlos Marcovich - Director, Carlos Marcovich - Editor, Alejandro Marcovich - Composer (Music Score), Carlos Marcovich - Producer, Antonio Diego - Sound/Sound Designer, Juan Carlos Prieto - Sound/Sound Designer, Carlos Marcovich - Screenwriter
Who the Hell is Juliette? (Spanish: ¿Quién diablos es Juliette?) is a Mexican1997documentary film directed by Carlos Marcovich and written by Marcovich and Carlos Cuarón.[1] The film is about Yuliet Ortega, a teen 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]
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]
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.
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]
