El Sur
Directed byVíctor Erice
Screenplay byVíctor Erice
Based onEl Sur
by Adelaida García Morales[1]
Produced byElías Querejeta
StarringOmero Antonutti
Sonsoles Aranguren
Icíar Bollaín
Aurore Clément
CinematographyJosé Luis Alcaine
Edited byPablo González del Amo
Music byEnrique Granados
Release date
19 May 1983
Running time
95 minutes
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish

El Sur ("The South") is a 1983 drama film directed by Spanish filmmaker Victor Erice, produced by Elias Querejeta, and starring Icíar Bollaín as the adult main character. It is based on Adelaida García Morales' short novel of the same name.[1]

As in the novella, the screenplay takes place solely in the north of Spain, however the novella picks up where the screenplay leaves off, taking Estrella on a journey to the south of Spain. Producer Elías Querejeta decided not to allow the filming of the latter 90 minutes which would have been filmed in the south. Querejeta attributed this to lack of funds, although neither Erice nor the film's cinematographer, José Luis Alcaine, believed that was the reason. Erice felt the film was incomplete and described it as an "unfinished drama" even though it was well received by critics.[2]

Plot

This film tells the story of a young girl named Estrella (Sonsoles Aranguren), living in the north of Spain with her father, Agustín (Omero Antonutti), and her mother, Julia (Lola Cardona). Her father is a scientist who seemingly has the ability to divine water using a pendulum, but Estrella finds him mysterious. As she's growing up her father shares with her the art of divination, but does not talk about his own childhood. Her grandmother comes to visit, and she learns that during the Spanish Civil War her father and grandfather had a falling out. Her grandfather supported Franco, but her father was a Republican. After the civil war her father vowed he would never return to the south again. Later she sees her father visit a movie theater, then eventually discovers that the films he patronizes all star an actress by the name of Irene Rios (Aurore Clément). She later finds out that Rios was her father's sweetheart in the south, and that he is still in love with her.[1][3]

Cast

Reception

The film was entered into the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.[4] It won the Gold Hugo at the 1983 Chicago International Film Festival.[5]

El Sur was voted the eighth-best Spanish film by professionals and critics in a 1996 Spanish cinema centenary.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Canby, Vincent (15 Jan 1988). "Film: 'El Sur,' From Spain". New York Times. New York, NY, USA. Retrieved 15 Sep 2020.
  2. ^ Lindo, Elvira (21 Jun 2018). "El Sur: A Complete Incomplete Film". criterion.com. The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 15 Sep 2020.
  3. ^ Abou-Jaoude, Amir (5 Oct 2018). "In 'El Sur,' Victor Erice contemplates childhood". The Stanford Daily. Stanford, CA, USA. Retrieved 15 Sep 2020.
  4. ^ "Festival de Cannes: The South". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  5. ^ "FilmAffinity". FilmAffinity. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  6. ^ Bentley, Bernard P. E. (2008), A Companion to Spanish Cinema, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, pp. 319–320, ISBN 978-1-85566-176-9, retrieved 12 September 2016

External links

Films directed by Víctor Erice
Categories