It’s Your Fault

Do we become what we are perceived to be? Are we merely the result of others' judgments? These are the questions asked in Anahi Berneri's IT'S YOUR FAULT, a drama depicting the story of young, working mother Julieta who is charged with physically abusing her children. With a somewhat absent husband, Julieta is left alone to balance working at home and taking care of her two small boys. Between the constant horseplay and typical childhood disobedience, her exhaustion and frustration are persistently tested. When her toddler Teno falls off the bed and hurts himself, Julieta rushes her family to the hospital so that Teno can be examined. Once there, the doctors question her about both of her sons' multiple bruises, quickly turning a suspicious eye on the overwhelmed mother. Erica Rivas' performance as Julieta is particularly remarkable as she successfully captures not only the embarrassment and alienation, but also the self-doubt of the accused. IT'S YOUR FAULT is an unnerving film that will bring you painfully close to a woman who is defending, yet simultaneously struggling with, her identity as a mother. (In Spanish with subtitles) – M.M.