El coronel no tiene quien le escriba (1999)

Every Friday, the Colonel puts on his only suit and goes to the dock to await a letter announcing the arrival of his pension. But the townsfolk all know that this pension will never come. ... See full summary »

Director:

Arturo Ripstein

Writers:

Paz Alicia Garciadiego, Gabriel García Márquez (novel)

Stars:

Fernando Luján, Marisa Paredes, Salma Hayek

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Fernando Luján	...	El coronel
Marisa Paredes	...	Lola
Salma Hayek	...	Julia
Rafael Inclán	...	Padre Ángel
Ernesto Yáñez	...	Don Sabas
Daniel Giménez Cacho	...	Nogales
Esteban Soberanes	...	Germán
Patricia Reyes Spíndola	...	Jacinta
Odiseo Bichir	...	Dr. Pardo
Julián Pastor	...	Lugones
Eugenio Lobo	...	Álvaro
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Enrique Castillo
Jorge Castillo	...	El cartero
Juana Garza
Mercedes Gironella

Storyline

Every Friday, the Colonel puts on his only suit and goes to the dock to await a letter announcing the arrival of his pension. But the townsfolk all know that this pension will never come. His wife also knows it, and even he knows it. But he is still waiting, living with the pain of the death of his son.

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Plot Keywords:

pension | colonel | husband wife relationship | evil man | shoes | 

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Taglines:

Basada en la novela de Gabriel García Márquez.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Fox (Mexico)

Country:

Mexico France Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

2 June 1999 (France)

Also Known As:

Az ezredes úrnak nincs, aki írjon

Filming Locations:

Veracruz, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

ESP 84,528,773 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amaranta Films, Canal+, DMVB Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Una familia de diez: TV por cable (2007)

User Reviews

A Slow and Touching Movie, Which Reflects the Social and Financial Situation of Most of the Elder Retired Persons in Third World Countries

In a poor village in Mexico, the Colonel (Fernando Luján) lives with his asthmatic wife Lola (Marisa Paredes) in an old house. Lola still grieves the death of their son Augustin some time ago. The colonel has been expecting for his pension of fighter in a war against Catholic church for almost twenty-seven years. However, for political reasons, the present government wants to forget this old fight. Without having any possession or money, but a valuable gamecock, they struggle to survival with the expectation of the acknowledgement letter from the government, recognizing the law and paying for the delayed pension. This slow and touching movie reflects the social and financial situation of most of the elder retired persons in third world countries. In Brazil, most of the retired persons has to survive with about US$ 80,00 per month. The debts of the colonel in the story were made to pay for a graveyard for his son, otherwise he would be buried as an indigent. Outstanding performance of the cast, in a very sad story that is reality in the poor countries. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): (`Não se Escreve ao Coronel') (Do not Write to the Colonel)