Belle Epoque (1992)

A 1931 Spanish military deserter finds himself on a lonely farm until the farmer's four daughters pay a visit and he falls for all of them.

Director:

Fernando Trueba

Writers:

Rafael Azcona (screenplay), Rafael Azcona (story)

Stars:

Fernando Fernán Gómez, Jorge Sanz, Penélope Cruz

Won 1 Oscar. Another 24 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Penélope Cruz	...	Luz
Miriam Díaz-Aroca	...	Clara
Gabino Diego	...	Juanito
Fernando Fernán Gómez	...	Manolo
Michel Galabru	...	Danglard
Ariadna Gil	...	Violeta
Agustín González	...	Don Luis
Chus Lampreave	...	Doña Asun
Mary Carmen Ramírez	...	Amalia
Jorge Sanz	...	Fernando
Maribel Verdú	...	Rocío
Juan José Otegui	...	El cabo
Jesús Bonilla	...	El número
María Galiana	...	La Polonia
Joan Potau	...	Paco (as Juan Potau)

Storyline

In 1931, a young soldier (Fernando) deserts from the army and falls into a country farm, where he is welcomed by the owner (Manolo) due to his political ideas. Manolo has four daughters (Rocio, Violeta, Clara and Luz). Fernando likes all of them and they like him, so he has to decide which one to love.

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Plot Keywords:

man dressed as woman | woman dressed as man | lingerie slip | suicide | dead husband | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

18A

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fernando Trueba shot the movie in Portugal for two main reasons: 1) he couldn't find any place similar to what he had in mind in Spain and 2) the use of that Portuguese location allowed him to empathize the tone of fable the story required.

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Goofs

Amalia sings "En un pais de fábula" from Pablo Sorozábal's zarzuela "La tabernera del puerto". The situation of the movie is in early 1930s, whereas this zarzuela was first staged in 1936.

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Quotes

Don Luis: What I've joined on earth in heaven not separate even God!

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Guarding Tess/Lightning Jack/The Hudsucker Proxy/The Ref/Belle Epoque/Germinal (1994)

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Soundtracks

En un país de fábula
(from La tabernera del puerto)
Written by Pablo Sorozábal (as Pablo Sorozabal), Guillermo Fernández Shaw and Federico Romero
Performed by Mary Carmen Ramírez

User Reviews

Comic cinema at its best

Belle Epoque is one of those movies you don't see every weekend at the theatre. It is a film set in a certain age (in this case: Spain during the times of the civil war), where the age itself is not very important, but it effects the way the story evolves. The best thing of all in this film is the acting and the comedy. The farce is excellent - hardly ever seen a film with such intelligent humourism. The first time I saw the film was in Spanish and I laughed my guts out (even though I do not know Spanish a lot ). The story too is not too complicated and at the same time it is not at all banal. The highlight of the film, in my opinion, is when the wife of Manolo goes to visit him and starts singing an aria from some opera. Some of the comic highlights of this movie are when Rojio is asked to try her mother-in-law -to-be's wedding dress and when Juanito enters her bed. The best quote from the film is Clara's: "A Woman cannot stay without a man, especially at night." Anyway, just about everything about this movie is great. Well, in short, WATCH IT

Details

Country:

Spain Portugal France

Language:

Spanish French

Release Date:

4 December 1992 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Belle epoque

Filming Locations:

Arruda dos vinhos, Lisbon, Portugal

Box Office

Gross USA:

$5,418,216

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,418,216

Company Credits

Production Co:

Animatógrafo, Eurimages, Fernando Trueba Producciones Cinematográficas

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1