The Shanghai Spell (2002)
"El embrujo de Shanghai" (original title)

A fourteen year old lad discovers his first love at the point of his pencil whilst drawing the portrait of a sickly but coquettish fifteen year old girl. In the neighbourhood an old ... See full summary »

Director:

Fernando Trueba

Writers:

Juan Marsé (novel), Fernando Trueba

Stars:

Fernando Tielve, Aida Folch, Ariadna Gil

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fernando Tielve	...	Dani
Aida Folch	...	Susana
Ariadna Gil	...	Anita / Chen
Fernando Fernán Gómez	...	Capt. Blay
Eduard Fernández	...	Forcat
Antonio Resines	...	Kim
Rosa Maria Sardà	...	Betibú
Jorge Sanz	...	Denis
Juan José Ballesta	...	Finito Chacón
Cristina Dilla	...	Madre Dani
Joan Borràs	...	Dr. Barjau
Götz Otto	...	Omar
Ferran Rañé	...	Fascista
Philippe Beglia	...	Lambert
Féodor Atkine	...	Michel Levy

Storyline

A fourteen year old lad discovers his first love at the point of his pencil whilst drawing the portrait of a sickly but coquettish fifteen year old girl. In the neighbourhood an old freedom-fighter pits himself against bad types, a pretty cinema-ticket girl takes to the streets at night and a young anarchist dedicates himself to telling tall stories. Far away, in Shanghai, a hero of the Republic meets a beautiful femme fatal with oriental eyes. Reality and fiction become fused in an embrace.

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Plot Keywords:

period drama | madman | barcelona spain | war of spain | based on novel

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

Spain France UK

Language:

Spanish Catalan

Release Date:

12 April 2002 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Shanghai Spell

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Antena 3 Televisión, Lolafilms, TeleMadrid

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was originally a Victor Erice project, but differences between him and producer Andrés Vicente Gómez ended up with his refusal to make the movie.

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Connections

References Laura (1944)

User Reviews

Another great story by Trueba

Fernando Trueba knows how to tell a story. And more importantly for cinema lovers, he also knows how to make it visually compelling. The story might be a bit twisted, you might have a bit of difficulty to follow exactly what's going on, but the movie is still worth watching. The cast is superb. Fernando Fernán Gomez is great as the old captain who's more lucid than he appears to be. Ariadna Gil is sublime in her role. Both Fernando Tielve and Aida Folch are to be remembered, because I'm sure we'll see more of them in the future. Another thing I liked about this movie is the photography. Trueba makes good use of black and white and keeps shifting the screen format from one scene to the other. And I really liked the ending. See for yourself.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on March 4th, 2006.

82/100 (***)