My Tender Matador

The story unfolds in spring 1986, during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile. The city is filled with protests, marches, and a fragile sense of hope amid curfews and surveillance. As September approaches, the coup's anniversary historically intensifies tension and raids.

Santiago, the capital of Chile, provides a dense urban backdrop under a repressive dictatorship. The nearby Cajón del Maipo—a mountainous canyon where the elite retreat—offers a contrasting landscape of escape and secrecy. The neighborhood becomes a stage for secret gatherings and late-night conversations held under curfew.

🪞 Identity

The film probes how gender, sexuality, and personal history intersect with political oppression. The Queen of the Corner navigates a life shaped by prostitution, abandonment, and a traumatic family past, while keeping intimate relationships hidden from the public eye. Carlos's interest in her reveals a questioning of social norms and the possibility of private identity outside of state-imposed roles. Secret nocturnal meetings become a space where identity can be explored, albeit at great risk.

🗳️ Politics

Set against a country-wide dictatorship, the narrative frames daily life through protests, curfews, and surveillance. The interweaving of personal and political life shows how power structures intrude on intimate spaces and relationships. The raid on weapons and references to the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front highlight the era's constant tension between resistance and state control. The setting reveals how political action can be both public and clandestine.

💼 Power

Power operates at multiple levels—from the state’s military authority to private social hierarchies in a poor Santiago neighborhood. The Queen's precarious livelihood, and the high-status visit to her neighborhood by General Ortúzar’s circle, illustrate class tensions and the way power shapes daily life. The dictator’s entourage and the police presence cast a constant shadow over casual encounters and personal aspirations. Personal relationships become a battleground where affection, loyalty, and secrecy contend with control.