Born to Suffer on AllMovie

Miguel Albaladejo wrote and directed this gentle comedy-drama about a woman who takes unexpected steps to reward the loyalty of a friend and punish her duplicitous family. Flora (Petra Martinez) is 72 years old and has spent most of her life putting the needs of her family ahead of her own. Flora has never married or had children, and when her sister died unexpectedly, she took in her three nieces and raised them to adulthood. Now that she's growing old and having trouble caring for herself, Flora imagines that her nieces Mariana (Mariola Fuentes), Mari Carmen (Mari Franc Torres) and Marta (Malena Alterio) will live up to their familial obligations, but she's horrified to discover the women aren't much interested in helping her, and plan to stick her in the Catholic retirement home where Marta works when the time comes. Flora's nieces also seem eager to get their hands on their aunt's estate; Flora is appalled, and decides the only person she can truly rely on is her longtime housekeeper, Purita (Adriana Ozores). Over the years, Flora has come to think of Purita as a member of the family, and to see to it that Purita will get her home when she dies, Flora comes up with an unusual plan -- she'll take Purita as her wife. Nacidas Para Sufrir (aka Born To Suffer) was an official selection at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.