Saeta del ruiseñor

When I was a kid, in the early sixties, Joselito Jiminez was a big star in French Canada. Some older people never forget him. I remember that this movie was at the Madelon cinema house of my hometown when it burned. We kids, at school, have fun talking about Joselito with the burning voice ! Now, I'm much older and I had a second grade university degree in history, and my subject was the French Canadian distributor France-Film, who was a very very conservative company. In the fifties and early sixties, that was France-Film who made Joselito a star in Quebec. After seeing this film, I know why! This is a very conservative movie! We had to know that in Spain, by that

time, dictator Franco was looking very closely to every point of what's goin' on in his country. Movies had to reflect his conservative and dictatorial regime. So, this movie reflects really that. See the big presence of Catholic religion propaganda, the naive melodrama, the sense of the family and the touristic look of the landscapes of Spain. Quebec, in the fifties and early sixties, was exactly in this same way: very catholic and conservative. So, I now really understand why Joselito was a star back then! Today, this movie really looks awful, but we can also enjoy it as a representation of the Spain of Franco.

Joselito is a naughty and rogue boy . He lives in a little town near Sevilla. Joselito is a singer boy who at school carries out antics , childish pranks , mischiefs and naughtiness . Then he meets a blind girl from his town and attempts to practice charity with her , while helps a couple (Manuel Zarzo , Vicky Lagos) to marry themselves . Later on , Joselito is helped by two American tourists , father (Archibald) and daughter( Ivy Bless) to become himself a popular singer , get fame and fortune so that he can gain money to undergo an expensive operation to the blind girl .

This is a sensitive story proceeded in simplicity , delicacy and humor by Antonio Del Amo and photographed by Juan Mariné . Here Joselito , who has a great success due to his magnificent voice , is excellently supported by an excellent plethora of secondaries as Vicky Lagos , Manuel Zarzo , Felix Briones , Aníbal Vela , among others . This is a typical children film on the pretext that Joselito sings eight songs . These are the following ones : El Tirachinas , Caudal escondido , Canción del eco , Dos luceros quieren verte , La luz de tus ojos , Anoche besé tu cara , Colombia tiene una copla , Donde estará mi vida , all of them composed by y Antonio Segovia , Lyrics by Francisco Naranjo, Camilo Murillo and Román and performed by Joselito . In fact , Joselito was introduced to the movie business in 1956 by filmmaker Antonio Del Amo , who directed him in the popular ¨Nightingale trilogy¨: El pequeño Ruiseñor , Saeta del Ruiseñor and Ruiseñor de las cumbres . His first feature was El Pequeño Ruiseñor (1957) ("The Little Nightingale"), where he earned his famous nickname . That's why he sings like the nightingales . Joselito met actor , singer/actor Luis Mariano at a recital , and he convinced him to play together in French TV and Radio shows . He was widely known in Spain when he became a widely successful child star , following to ¨El Ruiseñor De Las Cumbres¨ , ¨Saeta Del Ruiseñor¨ and ¨El Pequeño Coronel¨. The main role "Joselito" is played by himself in a phenomenal manner , can be said that he is perfectly adequate to his measure . He was a milestone in Spanish "child prodigies" under Franco along with Marisol , Pili and Mili and especially Pablito Calvo who starred the hits ¨The Bait¨ , ¨Mi Tio Jacinto¨ and ¨Marcelino Bread and Wine¨ . And the producers trying to keep them as little kids for as long as possible . Due to false advertising by the studios that made their movies, and which wanted to make him appear younger than they really were , an obsession that haunted them through the whole of their careers.

¨Saeta of the nightingale¨ is a joyful as well as fun Spanish musical/melodrama movie , professionally realized by Antonio Del Amo . This an enjoyable and feeling movie full of mirth ,entertainment , amusement , humor touches , agreeable message and in final takes places the ordinary happy end . Along the way the movie develops a brief remarks on villlage habits , Holy Week as well as gorgeous landscapes , such as meadows and the mountains from Andalucia . The scenarios in which develops the deeds are perfectly designed by Eduardo Torre de la Fuente . Gregorio Garcia Segura's musical score responds appropriately to the ambient , originating a careful atmosphere . Evocative and luminous cinematography by Juan Marimé , though a perfect remastering is necessary and filmed in Priego de Córdoba, Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain .

Of course , Joselito steals the show as the singer boy . Spanish film studios were looking for a new child star to follow the steps of Pablito Calvo, and make popular and populist folkloric movies and they found Joselito . After the international success of El Pequeño Ruiseñor , and following successful films such as ¨La Saeta Del Ruiseñor¨ , ¨Bello Recuerdo¨ , ¨Los Dos Golfillos¨, which were big box-office hits in Spain during Franco's dictatorship he became Spain's most famous child actor , outstanding his highly expressive face and eyes , enormous eyes and innocent, angelical face . His hits expanded all over the world , even Pier Paolo Pasolini included one song in his prestigious film ¨Mamma Roma¨(1962) with Anna Magnani . In his films he often sings Flamenco Cante , Saetas , Soleadas and other Folkloric songs . After several movies and records, and already a big star as a singer and an actor in Europe, the next move was trying to triumph in America, so Joselito went to Mexico where he filmed various projects, starting by ¨El Caballo Blanco¨ , ¨Aventuras de Joselito en América¨ (1960), which paired him with Mexican child star 'Cesáreo Quezadas Pulgarcito to grant local box-office . His success even reached around the world , in fact he was discovered as a singer by Luis Mariano, who got him to perform in France, pretending he was 9 at the moment of his debut, when he actually was 13 . However, life was not too glamorous for Joselito, as he was treated almost as a sideshow act by his managers, not allowing him to become an ordinary teenager , and even locking him in his room between rehearsals so he couldn't meet girls . He was forced to keep his childlike image up to 1969 (when he was in his mid-twenties) in ¨Loca Juventud¨ , ¨Falso Heredero¨ and when he appeared in his last film , ¨Prisionero En La Ciudad¨ (1969). But, as his voice had long broken, he was not successful anymore . Retired from acting at early age to become a drifter , even working as a mercenary . Disappearing from public life until it was discovered much later that he had become a heroin addict and even worked as a mercenary in Africa . An attempt of a comeback as an adult proved unsuccessful, as the tastes of the audience had changed, and his voice didn't resemble the one he had as a kid, so Joselito definitely retired from show business to his home in Utiel (Valencia), where he, now clean and sober, lives a quiet life far from movie and recording studios. Nowadays , he has reappeared doing brief TV interventions and cinema such as ¨Torrente¨ and ¨Spanish movie¨ .

The filmmaker Antonio Del Amo as well as the famous producer Cesáreo Gonzalez from his production Company : Suevia Films got a big hit in this picture , obtaining a great achievement , managing perfectly to the performers and taking advantage of them , giving the best of his acting . Antonio directs his second Joselito movie and one of his best ones. Antonio directed him in 8 out of 15 movies . Getting successes all around the world , France , South America and even Japan . The picture touched the hearts of numerous Spanish spectators by the time . Rating : Acceptable and passable for its worthwhile mingle of music , comedy , sentimentalism and good feeling .

The little boy has a beautiful voice. I've seen the movie when I was a child. I can't forget it. I always want this movie on video but I can't find it.

It is to state the obvious to write that Joselito Jimenez's musical melodramas were the reflection of the ideology of FRanco's dictatorship.However there's something fascinating when you see this little kid,some kind of Spanish Shirley Temple ...

First Joselito movie shot in color (and his second one) ,religion is somewhat less present (in the first part) than in his previous effort. The young wiz kid portrays a naughty boy and the first sequences oddly resemble Louis Pergaud's "La Guerre des Boutons" .But when the young blind girl appears ,it's mushy melodrama all over again.

Joselito sings every five minutes;they make the first excuse they can think of for introducing his songs: with the young blind girlie ,during a talent show -we hardly see the other contenders-, with an echo in the mountains, during the Holy Week..

For religion gets the lion's share in the second part.The director films the Holy Week celebrations in lavish details and these sequences give the movie its touristic look ,as the precedent user wrote.

Another cliché of this kind of melodrama is the wealthy American (represented by a grumpy (show)businessman and his daughter -"when he says "no" ,he agrees!").The American dream -which would come true for Joselito in real life :he was the Ed Sullivan show's guest -is a permanent feature of the time.At least, these rich tourists make the village stand together .They can't do anything for themselves?Oh no!