Review: Film shows Montgomery woman’s journey into history
- WHAT: Premiere of “First Lady of the Revolution” with Henrietta Boggs MacGuire, and Director Andrea Kalin
- WHEN: 3 p.m. Sunday
- WHERE: The Capri Theatre, 1045 East Fairview Ave.
- MORE INFO: www.capritheatre.org
“First Lady of the Revolution: A Southern Belle’s Journey Through Love, Exile and Revolution” may be partially about what writer/director/producer Andrea Kalin calls historic “Hemisphere-rocking events,” but it is the other revolt – the one taking place in a young, adventurous Southern woman – that will most fascinate viewers.
It would be easy to say that is the story of an unsophisticated, Alabama woman swept up in the winds of history, except that implies that Henrietta Boggs, now Henrietta Boggs MacGuire, was acted upon and not in control, instead of making the conscious decisions that took her into a foreign land, danger and history.
Her transformation from a somewhat sheltered Southern belle to one of the leaders of a historic revolution is told by her so matter-of-factly that it makes her independence and bravery all-the-more impressive.
The documentary examines Costa Rica and MacGuire as both take a journey of independence. But for Southern viewers, it will be MacGuire’s journey that will be by far the more fascinating.
Through interviews, largely with her, her children, historians and those who took part in the revolution, we see her transformation from a young lady in a conservative Presbyterian family taking part in the social traditions of Birmingham’s then-segregated Southern College to a firebrand taking part in a Costa Rican revolution that eventually resulted in her becoming the country’s first lady.
Her escape from Southern societal norms occurred after her parents allowed her to visit an aunt and uncle who had retired to Costa Rica. There she met Jose Figueres Ferrer, a motorcycle-riding Costa Rican coffee farmer, whom she soon married. After her husband criticized the president of Costa Rica, the couple was exiled. Ferrer later returned to lead a 1948 revolution that overthrew the corrupt government and later restored democracy to the country.
During all this MacGuire was more than simply the wife of a powerful man. She helped shape social policies, successfully pushing for Costa Rica to give women the right to vote and more opportunities for education.
But after her husband became so consumed with Costa Rican politics that he had no time for her or their children, she divorced him and returned to the United States. After working in Washington, she moved back to Alabama in 1969, where she remarried, co-founded River Region Living magazine and contributed articles to the Montgomery Advertiser.
It’s a remarkable story, and the interviews with MacGuire are wonderful. Although in her 90s, age seems to have had no effect on her wit and intelligence, and it is easy to catch glimpses of the fearless young woman who so easily shrugged off the Southern conformity of the 1940s.
It’s a fascinating documentary. It’s biggest problem is that it leaves viewers hungering for more information than they receive. Although it has a brief scene at the end of the documentary showing MacGuire interviewing McDowell Lee, who was Secretary of the Alabama Senate for close to half a century, for the most part the story ends when she divorces Ferrer and leaves Costa Rica.
While the story ends, our curiosity does not. We still want to know a multitude of things: What was it like returning to the U.S. and how did her family react? What was the rest of Ferrer’s life like, and what was her relationship with him like in the years after the divorce? How did her second husband compare to the first and what did he think about her earlier life? What were her feelings about living in Montgomery after spending those years in revolution-torn Costa Rica?
While the documentary doesn’t ask those questions, if you attend the Sunday premiere of “First Lady of the Revolution,” you can.
MacGuire, who with Kalin will attend the 3 p.m. showing at the Capri Theatre, will answer audience questions after the screening, which is sponsored by Montgomery’s Landmarks Foundation. Tickets are $30 and available at Old Alabama Town, NewSouth Books and immediately before the show at the Capri ticket window.
“First Lady of the Revolution,” racked up three awards at Birmingham’s Sidewalk Film Festival, including the Audience Award for Best Alabama Film. MacGuire was given the festival’s Inaugural Spirit of Sidewalk Award.
Read more travel stories at sweethomealblog.wordpress.com.
WANT TO GO?
WHAT: Premiere of “First Lady of the Revolution” with Henrietta Boggs MacGuire, and Director Andrea Kalin
WHEN: 3 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: The Capri Theatre, 1045 East Fairview Ave.
COST: Tickets are $30 and available at Old Alabama Town, NewSouth Books and immediately before the show at the Capri ticket window.
MORE INFO: www.capritheatre.org