Splendid but overlong movie that mingles intense drama , urban conventionality , criticism , social habits and heartrending tragedies. It begins with a prologue regarding a quote by Fray Luis de León. It deals with a family living at Chueca square in 1960s Madrid, being formed by the distressed father, municipal guard, Agapito (Francisco Pierrá) , good mother , housewife Eloisa (Mercedes Leal) and two sisters : the badly married Elisa (Lina Canalejas), and independient Luisa (Gemma Cuervo) who have a thunderous rivalry each attempts to success, love, and social status ; along with the blissful and religious Rodolfo (José Morales) who is usually praying . As Elisa is married a hopeless waiter (Fernando Fernán Gómez) who is really obsessed to win pools to get a fortune .
The film is a thought-provoking and interesting social drama with engaging portrayals based on the realist novella of the same title written (1960) by Juán Antonio Zunzunegui . This is not the typical drama by that time , here there is a deep social denounce about the repression during Franco dictatorship , dealing with a peculiar family developing the extreme competence , ambition , rivalry , envy and egoism of their misfit members . Highly acclaimed pic offering an atmospheric and evocative cinematography in black and white , the film is widely considered a classic of Spanish cinema . This is almost a ¨Folletin¨ , an agreeable but depressing picture with a lot of unfortunate and hapless roles , dealing with the lives of the members of a family with a tumultuous and violent , at times, sibling rivalry and set in a repressed society resulting in tragic consequences. The main actors give fabulous interpretations , such as : Lina Canalejas , Gemma Cuervo , Mercedes Leal and Fernando Fernán Gómez . They are well accompanied by a good support cast with plenty of familiar faces , such as : Agustin Gonzalez , Fernando Guillén , José Calvo , José María Caffarel , Marisa Paredes , Jacinto San Emeterio, María Luisa Ponte , Ana María Noé , Antonio Jiménez Escribano , Pilar Bardem, among others.
This brooding and harrowing picture is well set in the Sixties , splendidly photographed by the notorious cameraman Emilio Foriscot , being stunningly shot on location , in Madrid , showing splendidly streets , plazas and Castiza locations. In addition , it packs and atmospheric and evocative score by Daniel J. White , Jesús Franco's regular . The motion picture was well directed by Fernando Fernán Gómez and it failed at the Spanish boxoffice . Fernán Gómez appeared in more than 200 films , directed another 20 and wrote novels , plays and poetry . He was a member of the Spanish Royal Academy and one of the best actors of the film history . Along with Icíar Bollaín , he's the only person to have been nominated as performer (El Abuelo (1998), director (El Viaje a Ninguna Parte (1986) and writer (Lázaro De Tormes (2001) for three different movies at the Goya awards . He actually won in every category at least once . This prolific and prestigious actor also directed a few films , such as : ¨Lazaro De Tormes¨ , ¨Fuera De Juego ¨, ¨Mambrú Se Fue a La Guerra¨ , ¨5 Tenedores¨ , ¨5.000 Dias Juntos¨ , ¨Ninette¨ , ¨Venganza De Don Mendo¨ , ¨El Extraño Viaje¨ that is today deemed a real ¨Cult Movie¨ and his greatest success ¨Viaje a Ninguna Parte¨ .
The film is a thought-provoking and interesting social drama with engaging portrayals based on the realist novella of the same title written (1960) by Juán Antonio Zunzunegui . This is not the typical drama by that time , here there is a deep social denounce about the repression during Franco dictatorship , dealing with a peculiar family developing the extreme competence , ambition , rivalry , envy and egoism of their misfit members . Highly acclaimed pic offering an atmospheric and evocative cinematography in black and white , the film is widely considered a classic of Spanish cinema . This is almost a ¨Folletin¨ , an agreeable but depressing picture with a lot of unfortunate and hapless roles , dealing with the lives of the members of a family with a tumultuous and violent , at times, sibling rivalry and set in a repressed society resulting in tragic consequences. The main actors give fabulous interpretations , such as : Lina Canalejas , Gemma Cuervo , Mercedes Leal and Fernando Fernán Gómez . They are well accompanied by a good support cast with plenty of familiar faces , such as : Agustin Gonzalez , Fernando Guillén , José Calvo , José María Caffarel , Marisa Paredes , Jacinto San Emeterio, María Luisa Ponte , Ana María Noé , Antonio Jiménez Escribano , Pilar Bardem, among others.
This brooding and harrowing picture is well set in the Sixties , splendidly photographed by the notorious cameraman Emilio Foriscot , being stunningly shot on location , in Madrid , showing splendidly streets , plazas and Castiza locations. In addition , it packs and atmospheric and evocative score by Daniel J. White , Jesús Franco's regular . The motion picture was well directed by Fernando Fernán Gómez and it failed at the Spanish boxoffice . Fernán Gómez appeared in more than 200 films , directed another 20 and wrote novels , plays and poetry . He was a member of the Spanish Royal Academy and one of the best actors of the film history . Along with Icíar Bollaín , he's the only person to have been nominated as performer (El Abuelo (1998), director (El Viaje a Ninguna Parte (1986) and writer (Lázaro De Tormes (2001) for three different movies at the Goya awards . He actually won in every category at least once . This prolific and prestigious actor also directed a few films , such as : ¨Lazaro De Tormes¨ , ¨Fuera De Juego ¨, ¨Mambrú Se Fue a La Guerra¨ , ¨5 Tenedores¨ , ¨5.000 Dias Juntos¨ , ¨Ninette¨ , ¨Venganza De Don Mendo¨ , ¨El Extraño Viaje¨ that is today deemed a real ¨Cult Movie¨ and his greatest success ¨Viaje a Ninguna Parte¨ .
