La Belle Otero: on-screen representations of a Belle Époque legend

Abstract

Carolina Otero, « La Belle Otero », was an artist capable of surprising and mobilising international audiences, but she was also a social figure who knew how to take advantage of publicity and scandal for her self-promotion. The combination of her personality as an artist and as a courtesan turned her into a myth and an icon of the Belle Époque, something that, inevitably, would soon be exploited by the cinema. In this article, we analyse three biopics from different periods and nationalities, observing their similarities but, especially, their differences. The first of them -La Belle Otero, 1954- is a melodrama that extols the beauty of María Félix. The other two -La Bella Otero (1984) and La Bella Otero (2008)- are two television series which are quite different in their portrayal of the dancer. Probably the most interesting artistic product is the Italian co-production of 1984, where the focus is taken away from melodrama and directed towards artistic life. This is in sharp contrast to the other two films, where both productions develop their narrative plots around the idea of selfless love (with different partners: an aristocratic in the French film and a young socialist in the Spanish series). This commercial interest is also reflected in the music featured: while the French film and the Spanish series allow themselves liberties in the choice of repertoire, the Italian serie tries to approach the contemporary music of La Belle Otero with more plausibility and veracity.