Los títeres

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"Los Títeres" (1984) is a famous Chilean telenovela. Its screenplay was written by famous Chilean author Sergio Vodanovic, and it was directed by Oscar Rodríguez.

1 Plot
2 Trivia
3 Cast
4 See also
5 External link

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In the early '60s, a relatively rich Greek man named Constantino Mykonos (Walter Kliche) and his 17-year-old daughter Artemisa (Claudia Di Girólamo) arrive in Chile, more precisely at the Godán household ruled by Elías (Aníbal Reyna), Constantino's cousin and childhood friend. Artemisa is immediately bullied by his cousin, the spoiled Adriana Godán (played by Paulina García as a young girl and Gloria Münchmayer as an adult) and her school friends. Adriana is jealous of Artemisa's beauty and charisma, and is also obsessed with no woman letting her surpass her since her father looked down on her for being female. Adriana's best friend Loreto (Soledad Pérez) is also jealous of Artemisa since her boyfriend, the aspiring writer Néstor (Mauricio Pesutic) is starting to harbor some degree of romantic interest in her. Artemisa likes Néstor, but also has her eyes set on Hugo (Cristián Campos), the handsome and hard-working son of the Godan's housekeeper.

After Adriana stages an incredibly cruel prank that includes photos of a naked Artemisa taken without her knowledge, and Constantino dies in an accident, Artemisa can't resist any more. Despite the pleas and support of her best friend Margarita (Ximena Vidal) and her husband the photographer Klaus Müller (Marcelo González), Artemisa flees to Quito, Ecuador. Twenty years later, she returns as a cold and gorgeous socialite and bussinesswoman, determined to face her past. She doesn't know that Adriana, unable to let go of her own jealousy, is already planning to steal Artemisa's hard-won fortune and either send her to a North American jail on false charges or to lock her up in a mental institution.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Trivia

The title, which literally means "The Puppets" in Spanish, is taken from a bunch of marionettes that are made with the main characters as models, in the '60s section of the story arc. These are used later by one of Adriana's old friends, a kindergarten teacher, to tell fairy tales to the children she teaches. It's also a metaphor referring to the way people are obsessed with money and power, which pull on them like puppet strings.
The overall idea behind this telenovela is adapted from Friedrich Dürrenmatt's play The Visit. Decades later, another telenovela named "Romané" would adapt Dürrenmatt's play more closely, though giving it a somewhat happier ending; ironically, both series feature actress Claudia DiGirólamo as the leading lady.
The puppets representing Artemisa, Adriana, Loreto and Néstor also appear in the opening sequence of the series. Some Chilean adults who saw the telenovela as children say they used to be afraid of these puppets.
Several of the actors in the second half of the telenovela are from Ecuador, including César Carmigniani who plays Artemisa's fiancé Mario. Likewise, several roles were played by younger actors in the first half and older ones in the second half, to cover the 20-year gap in the story: i.e, Paulina García plays 17-year-old Adriana and Gloria Münchmayer plays her 37-year-old counterpart.
Viewers identified so strongly with Artemisa that they became aggressive and hostile towards the actors who played her antagonists. Paulina García says she once was almost hit by a car driven by an angry fan.
The early '90s Chilean telenovela "Fuera de Control" ("Out of Control") is heavily inspired by "Los Títeres". This fact has been openly recognized by "Fuera de Control" author Pablo Illanes, who also says he'd like to adapt "Los Títeres" as a movie.
The telenovela is spoofed in a sketch in the Chilean children's show "31 Minutos", where a theater company formed by sock puppets is playing a famous show named "Los Títeres" as well. They even sing a line from the chorus of the series' opening song ("Somos títeres, nada más", translated as "we're puppets, nothing more") in their introduction.
Marcelo González made a successful career not as a dramatic actor, but as the host of "Cachureos" ("Messy Stuff"), one of Chile's most popular and long-running child shows.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The final episode of "Los Títeres" shows how Adriana, after all her evil plans crumble, goes completely insane and suffers a regression to her childhood as a little girl who only wished for her father's unconditional love, which was denied her because she was not a boy. At one point, Adriana jumps into a pool and starts playing with a bunch of plastic dolls, while her old and paralyzed father cries; this is the origin of the Chilean slang phrase "peinar la muñeca" ("to comb the doll" in English), which refers to the loss of reason. Adriana Godán is still one of the most popular villains in Chilean telenovelas, as well as one of actress Gloria Münchmayer's most popular roles ever.

Spoilers end here.