Cria Cuervos (1976)
"Cría cuervos" (original title)

In Madrid, the orphan sisters Irene, Ana and Maite are raised by their austere aunt Paulina together with their mute and crippled grandmother after the death of their mother and their ... See full summary »

Director:

Carlos Saura

Writer:

Carlos Saura (story)

Stars:

Geraldine Chaplin, Mónica Randall, Florinda Chico

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 8 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Maria - The Mother / Ana - The Daughter as an Adult
Mónica Randall	...	Paulina - The Aunt
Florinda Chico	...	Rosa
Ana Torrent	...	Ana
Héctor Alterio	...	Anselmo
Germán Cobos	...	Nicolás Garontes
Mirta Miller	...	Amelia Garontes
Josefina Díaz	...	Abuela - The Grandmother
Conchita Pérez	...	Irene
Mayte Sanchez	...	Maite (as Maite Sánchez)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Juan Sánchez Almendros

Storyline

In Madrid, the orphan sisters Irene, Ana and Maite are raised by their austere aunt Paulina together with their mute and crippled grandmother after the death of their mother and their military father Anselmo. Ana is a melancholic girl, fascinated by death, after seeing her mother having a painful death and her father dead in bed.

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Plot Keywords:

orphan | spain | flashback | childhood trauma | childhood fantasy | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

18 May 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cria!

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 96,752,812 (Spain) (3 March 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Elías Querejeta Producciones Cinematográficas S.L.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title in Spanish stems from the phrase "Raise ravens and they'll pluck out your eyes". The equivalent phrase in English would be "you reap what you sow".

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Quotes

Maite: My mother died before I was born.

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Connections

Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #4.1 (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Canción y Danzas N.6"
Composed by Federico Mompou

User Reviews

the 2nd level

Like almost everyone i found this movie extraordinary touching and beautiful when i first saw it. I watched it several times and i realized something, it's really about Spain under Franco's dictatorship. Every character is a metaphor of Spain , the beautiful mother killed, cheated on by her military husband, the collaborating auntie who tries to educate the children, the old mute grand mother, who only wants to remember the old days (the republic) etc... every line in the movie can be heard in a completely different. The young rebel Ana is a true symbol of the spanish youth who can't stand anymore the military oppression, and who wanna be free to see the outside world (the song is reggae !). and the final scene with the hope of a new era coming (when the kids are arriving at school as a new year is beginning) is the reflection of what was about to happen in Spain (Franco died the same year). Anyway, whether you want to see its political message or not, it's just a wonderful movie, one of my favorite.