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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

Regards d'une Enfance.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

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

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".

---

Quotes

Ana: Rosa, is it true that my mother always wore this cross?
Rosa: Of course. Grandmother gave it to her. This cross keeps the devil away.
Ana: And vampires too!

---

Connections

Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #7.4 (1994)

---

Soundtracks

Canción y Danzas N.6
Composed by Frederic Mompou (as Federico Mompou)

User Reviews

Perspectives

This film is such a splendid experience that it's difficult to really describe objectively why. The plot, the characters are revealed at a perfect tempo, keeping the audience engrossed and anticipating what's next. Any film with such sparse dialogue needs to make the rare lines worthwhile, and Saura certainly does, probably learning from Erice, the master of indispensable dialogue. Ana Torrent invites all sorts of Erice comparisons, but I see Saura taking a step beyond him here visually.

"Beehive" was a landmark film, and unlike anything that had been made. But the camera maintained the same distance and the story was fundamentally allegorical. Saura experiments with distance, sometimes following the characters closely, sometimes giving an omniscient birds eye view of the area. Sometimes remaining a mere witness to what's happening. It's very carefully calculated to best enhance the scene and keep these extraordinary events within the realm of possibility.

If there's such a film as a director's film, this is it. Although it is certainly worthwhile for the performances as well.

5 out of 5 - Essential