El Sur (1983)

A woman reflects on her childhood relationship with her father, attempting to understand the depths of his despair and the truth of his myths.

Director:

Víctor Erice

Writers:

Víctor Erice (screenplay), Adelaida García Morales (short story)

Stars:

Omero Antonutti, Sonsoles Aranguren, Icíar Bollaín

7 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Omero Antonutti	...	Agustín Arenas
Sonsoles Aranguren	...	Estrella - 8 años
Icíar Bollaín	...	Estrella - 15 años
Lola Cardona	...	Julia
Rafaela Aparicio	...	Milagros
Aurore Clément	...	Irene Ríos / Laura
Maria Caro	...	Casilda
Francisco Merino	...	Enamorado
José Vivó	...	Camarero
Germaine Montero	...	Doña Rosario
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
José García García Morilla	...	Chófer
María Massip	...	Estrella adulta (voice)

Storyline

The movie tells a melancholic story of a little girl who is living in a city in the north of Spain. She is fascinated by the secrets of the south which seem to be hidden in the personality of her father.

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Plot Keywords:

girl | spain | childhood | open ended | film within a film | 

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Taglines:

Sur est un seul et grand Tango

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Spain France

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

5 January 1984 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

El Sur

Filming Locations:

Estella, Navarra, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chloë Productions, Elías Querejeta Producciones Cinematográficas S.L., Televisión Española (TVE)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Víctor Erice considers this to be an unfinished project. The original script consisted of more than 400 pages and was scheduled to be shot in 81 days. 48 days into shooting, when production was to be moved to north Spain, producer Elías Querejeta unexpectedly suspended the project, allegedly because of financing objections by Televisión Española, the backing television network. However, Querejeta revealed years later that he made the decision because he though the movie was finished with what they've shot so far.

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Connections

References Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

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Soundtracks

La puerta del Sagrario
Composed by Enric Granados

User Reviews

Erice second triumph

El Sur is Victor Erice consecutive second triumph as a excellent and meticulous director after a ten years period of cinema inactivity that he spend doing television commercials spots to get some money. Based on Adelaida Garcia Morales homonym tale, the film is a cadenced story about a little girl who we see growing up in the screen. Estrella (Sonsoles Aranguren at 8 and Iciar Bollain at 15) reminds the relationship with her strange father, a blue republican medicine doctor in a northern little and still village of Spain at the fifties. The picture was show with success at 1983 Cannes Festival of Cinema but, made off current cinema fashions, did not won the Academy Oscar to Best Foreign Film. I think it deserved to receive the prize. In spite of disagreements with the movie producer (the original picture must to be very much longer) Erice got a delightful, evocative and unique piece of wok with a quite and maintained rhythm and wonderful outside and interior photography. Any way El Sur is the most personal and powerful Spanish film ever made.