On a remote hacienda, Ana María (Adela Sequeyro) endures her tyrannical stepfather’s control before fleeing to a life of bohemian modernity. In a vividly stylised world, she engages the affections of three charming artists, orchestrating their rivalries with intelligence and charm. Nobody’s Wife was the first sound film in Mexico to be directed by a woman, with pioneering filmmaker Adela Sequeyro serving as writer, director and lead performer.
Transforming melodrama into a site of female autonomy, Sequeyro uses sparse dialogue, expressive close-ups, and inventive camera angles to foreground Ana María’s desires and agency, while masculinity is portrayed with gentle humour. Boldly titled, formally rigorous, and erotically nuanced, Nobody’s Wife celebrates a woman who belongs to no one but herself, challenging the conventions of 1930s Mexican cinema.
Stronger Than Love: Too Much Mexican Melodrama!
Paired with Mexican melodrama Streetwalker, in a strand curated by Invisible Women: Stronger Than Love: Too Much Mexican Melodrama! is delivered with the support of BFI FAN, awarding funds from The National Lottery and Filmoteca UNAM.
Too Much: Melodrama on Film
Running from October - December 2025, Too Much: Melodrama on Film is a UK wide programme supported by BFI and BFI FAN which celebrates the visual excess and dramatic potency of a form of cinema which champions emotional intensity over propriety and ‘good taste’. This autumn, we're presenting live events and classic titles, to make you swoon, weep and make a scene!
Explore Too Much: Melodrama on Film
Director Adela Sequeyro
Year 1937
Duration
1h 22m
Language Spanish with English subtitles
Cast Adela Sequeyro, Mario Tenorio, José Eduardo Pérez