The Summer of Miss Forbes

The Summer of Miss Forbes (Spanish: El verano de la señora Forbes) is a 1988 Mexican film directed by Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, starring Hanna Schygulla and Francisco Gattorno. It is based on a short story written by Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez in 1976 and published in 1992 as part of his collection of short stories titled Doce Cuentos Peregrinos (Strange Pilgrims). The plot follows the title character, a German governess hired to look after two unruly boys whose parents have taken a six-week vacation. By day, Miss Forbes runs the household with oppressive discipline but at night she displays a behavior more troubling than the one shown by the children who resist her authority. Plot Eduardo and his wife are a well to do couple staying in a summer seaside house in Yucatan. They are spending part of the summer months there with their two unruly children: Mauricio and Sandro who are nine and eight years old. The household is completed with the superstitious indigenous cook and a local young fisherman who serves as the children underwater swimming instructor. As the couple leaves for six weeks to take a cruise from Miami, the mother hires Mrs. Forbes, a German governess, to take care of the children while the parents are away. Mrs. Forbes arrives by boat after a long trip and she is immediately instructed by the mother to impose "law and order" in the house and to treat the undisciplined and rude children severely in an attempt to improve their ways.