Cría Cuervos (1976)

Three orphaned sisters under the custody of their stern aunt and their handicapped grandmother will have to acclimatise to the new conditions of their shared life, overcome life's constant impediments, and in the process, grow up.

Director:

Carlos Saura

Writer:

Carlos Saura (screenplay)

Stars:

Ana Torrent, Conchita Pérez, Mayte Sanchez

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

Cast

Credited cast:
Ana Torrent	...	Ana niña
Conchita Pérez	...	Irene (as Conchi Perez)
Mayte Sanchez	...	Maite (as Maite Sánchez)
Geraldine Chaplin	...	María / Ana
Mónica Randall	...	Paulina (as Monica Randall)
Florinda Chico	...	Rosa
Josefina Díaz	...	Abuela (as Josefina Diaz)
Germán Cobos	...	Nicolás Garontes (as German Cobos)
Héctor Alterio	...	Anselmo (as Hector Alterio)
Mirta Miller	...	Amelia Garontes
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Julieta Serrano	...	Ana (voice)

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:

flashback | francoist spain | poison | childhood fantasy | childhood trauma | 

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Taglines:

Regards d'une Enfance.

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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:

Cría Cuervos

Filming Locations:

15 Calle de María de Molina, Madrid, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Elías Querejeta Producciones Cinematográficas S.L.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

French visa # 46112.

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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 Frederic Mompou (as Federico Mompou)

User Reviews

Sensitive as well as thought-provoking picture starred by an extraordinary little actress , Ana Torrent

Sensational film that dispenses a brooding plot and considered to be one of the best Spanish films , in fact was voted one of the best Spaniard film by professionals and critics in 1996 Spanish cinema centenary . Well directed film by Carlos Saura , including his own story and screenplay , who tried to create an enjoyable flick plenty of symbolism and metaphor by tackling a description about a particular family formed by three little girls , their stiff aunt and grandmother . This slow-moving and intelligent picture is well set in Spain of the 70s , in Madrid, the orphan sisters Ana , Irene, and Maite (Ana Torrent ,Conchita Perez , Maite Blasco) are raised by their spinster aunt (Monica Randall), after dieing their mother by a painful illness , and living together their silent and wheelchair-bounded grandmother . Melancholic Ana is traumatized after viewing death of her daddy (Hector Alterio ) in bed and painful disappearance her mum (Geraldine Chaplin who married Carlos Saura) , and she drifts into her own fantasy world . The fragile , single little Anna dreams of meeting her mom and she is obsessed by death .

Sensitive film full of feeling , haunting mood-pieces , wonderful images and sense of wonder . However , it turns out to be some claustrophobic , being mostly filmed at a Madrid mansion and brief outdoor scenes in Quintanar, Segovia, Castilla y León . This extraordinary flick spells through intricate patterns of frames , sets , sound and color . 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". This film was notorious in the years of the Franco's downfall dictatorship including provoking and polemic issues and played by known and prestigious actors as Geraldine Chaplin , Monica Randall and Hector Alterio . In addition , a magnificent support cast such as German Cobos , Mirta Miller and special mention to Florinda Chico as a likable servant . His style is pretty much dry in the atmosphere as in the fresh dialog , as well as realistic , and including fantastic elements as when appears the ghost mother . ¨Cria Cuervos¨ is one of Saura's undisputed masterpieces and fundamental in his filmography where shows efficiently some peculiar characters and shot at the height of his creativity, in a period cultural difficult, where the enormous censorship of the political regime exacerbated the ingenuity and imagination of the scriptwriters . Splendid , luxurious photography with juicy atmosphere by Teo Escamilla who along with Luis Cuadrado are considered to be two of the best Spanish cameramen , both of whom worked for Saura . Interesting screenplay by the same director based on a original story . Moving and emotive musical score by Federico Mompou and of course the unforgettable theme song "Porque Te Vas" sung by Jeanette that was an enormous European hit , and appealed even to people who didn't understand Spanish language . This touching picture will appeal to Spanish films buffs ; being deservedly nominated for Golden Globe , and another 8 wins & 3 nominations . Rating : Top-notch and outstanding movie , worthwhile seeing .

The motion picture perfectly produced by magnificent producer Elias Querejeta was stunningly directed by Carlos Saura , a good Spanish movies director. He began working in cinema in 1959 when he filmed ¨Los Golfos ¨(1962) dealing with juvenile delinquency from a sociological point of view . He subsequently made LLanto por Un Bandido (1964) starred by an European all-star-cast . Saura is a well recognized filmmaker both nationally and internationally, and in proof of it he won many prizes among which there are the following ones: Silver Bear in Festival of Berlin for Peppermint Frappé (1967) and the successful La Caza (1966) that also won numerous prizes in International Festivals and in which four characters facing each other and terminating into a jarring burst of violence . Saura achieved Special Jury Awards in Cannes for La Prima Angélica (1974), in 1973, and for Cría Cuervos (1976), in 1975. Also, the film Mamá Cumple Cien Años (1979) got an Oscar nomination in 1979 as the best foreign film, and it also won the Special Jury Award at the San Sebastian Festival. He subsequently made ¨Deprisa , Deprisa¨ based on facts about juvenile delinquency in Spain since the 80s , as he tried to take a position in favour of outcast people and he got to make a both lyric and documentary-style cinema . In 1990, he won two Goya , The Spanish Oscar , as best adapted screenplay writer and best director . Saura became an expert on Iberian musical adaptations as ¨Carmen , Amor Brujo , Bodas De Sangre , Sevillanas , Iberia , Salome , Fado, Flamenco ¨ and even recently Opera as ¨Io , Don Giovanni¨