In the early eighties, filmmaker Antonio Giménez-Rico composed a groundbreaking documentary for the time: a look at the characters, living conditions, experiences and opinions of six transsexual women in a society that, in general terms, despised and discriminated against them. . As reported by Pau Brunet, producer and box office analyst, Dressed in Blue was groundbreaking both for its content (“it is a pioneering documentary in both its form and the theme it explores”) and for its theatrical run (“it sold almost 250,000 tickets” ). As the journalist Valeria Vegas became interested in the lives of these women after the recordings, Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi chose to continue the Veneno universe from this thread.
A couple of details should be taken into account when talking about Dressed in Blue, which is the name of the sequel that arrives on Sunday at atresplayer. It is not written by the Javis, even though Veneno is the clear reference and it is understood that they belong to the same fictional universe, with repetition of characters. The work falls to veterans of the medium such as Javier Holgado and Susana López Rubio, who were screenwriters of Alba or La templanza, and Valeria Vegas, who published her journalistic investigation with the title Vestidas de azul in 2019. Mikel Rueda, Ian de la Rosa and Claudia Costafreda, who were in Veneno, direct.
The other issue is the veracity of the work. Dressed in Blue shows how the fictional Valeria Vegas works in the book she published in 2019. While the stories linked to the past try to be faithful and respectful to the protagonists of Giménez-Rico’s documentary, the present has fiction only as a starting point. Dates are moved, excuses are sought to repeat Paca the Piranha and other secondary characters from the previous series, and plots are even created. So that we understand each other, Valeria Vegas has no problem publicly acknowledging that she does not want to be a mother but, in the version played by Lola Rodríguez, she does seek that motherhood, listed on adoption lists.
This crossover between a past that is faithful to the facts and a present that walks freely is a smart decision so that history can explore nooks and crannies that might otherwise be overlooked. Loren, Renée, Nacha, Tamara, Josette and Eva tell where we come from, with stories about the creation of dissident identities in the Franco regime but that also had no place in the society after the transition.
In the present, dramatic sweets are found such as the difficulties in assuming one’s physique when, even despite treatments, one sees masculine features in the mirror. With this conflict, Alex Saint has revealing scenes regarding his acting talent. The reflection on motherhood from transsexuality is also stimulating and a plot around Paca, who maintains a hopeful attitude towards love, even after a life as hard as hers, is heartwarming.
Dressed in Blue is not Poison and it doesn’t try to be either. It would also be unfair to ask him to be at the same level (which he is not), taking into account the relevance, originality and artistic outburst of Cristina Ortiz’s biopic. But the creative team finds its own focus within the outside perspective of Calvo and Ambrossi, executive producers, with respect and emotion as pillars of their series. It seeks serenity and constancy by revealing the lives of six women.
A series with such tact towards its characters, which knows how to present the life experiences of strangers with the closeness of someone who knows they will strengthen ties of intimacy, should always be praised. Meeting Loren, Renée, Nacha, Tamara, Josette and Eva is a pleasure and an honor that exercises the muscle of empathy, in the same way that the lungs expand when taking a deep breath in the middle of the forest.
And, based on the music of Raúl Santos and Álex de Lucas and the direction, the story is impregnated with a melancholy that underlines an uncomfortable truth: you can honor and remember those who suffered injustice, but you cannot reverse the damage. .
