A Matador's Mistress (2008)

The film starts in the trip from Sevilla to Linares, where Manolete stops in Córdoba to see his mother. He will be remembering some passages of his life.

Director:

Menno Meyjes

Writer:

Menno Meyjes

Stars:

Adrien Brody, Penélope Cruz, Santiago Segura

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adrien Brody	...	Manolete
Penélope Cruz	...	Lupe Sino
Santiago Segura	...	Guillermo
Juan Echanove	...	Pepe Cámara
Ann Mitchell	...	Doña Angustias
Josep Linuesa	...	Enrique de Ahumada
Nacho Aldeguer	...	Luis Miguel Dominguín
Pedro Casablanc	...	General
Enrique Arce	...	Dominguín Manager
Tomás Pozzi	...	Dealer
Jorge Cabezas	...	Fascist
Xavier Martinez	...	Journalist in Dª Angustias House (as Xabier Martinez)
Berta de la Dehesa	...	Manolete's Sister 1
Natalia Moreno	...	Manolete's Sister 2
Pablo Calvo	...	Husband 1

Storyline

"A Matador's Mistress" is a tragically eloquent dance of the cold brutality of uncommitted love and the high stakes of the Bullfight. Immerse yourself in the culture of Spain surrounding the age old traditions of the Matador. While the bullfight is controversial by today's standards, the ancient art-form is depicted with unflinching realism. The story is of man against beast, the bullfighter's zen, if you will; his nightly dance with death. A world-class lover enters his world; their code is their truth. Life being lived, edgy, relentlessly flirting with disaster, untamed, beautiful.

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Plot Keywords:

matador | spain | bullfighter | 1940s | bullring | 

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Taglines:

He defied death like a god... he succumbed to love as a man.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

About 7 minutes into the movie, a piece of source music is played. The scene has Manolete, holding a gun, looking for Lupe, after she presumably fled their bed. The song is played in a diegetic way, letting the viewer assume that it's coming from inside the movie universe and that the characters themselves are hearing the soundscape. The song is "Las Campanas de Linares" by Rafael Farina. What makes this song choice interesting for the movie is that it's a song written in Manolete's memory after his death, and it's literally describing his goring in 1947, in Linares. The fact that Adrian Brody's character is actually hearing the song of his coming death is both a fascinating and unsettling directorial/editing decision.

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Goofs

While in the car driving in the country the matador and his manager are talking about the three rules and the manager's cigarette switches sides of his mouth from shot to shot throughout the scene without the camera showing that he moved it in the previous shot.

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Quotes

Lupe Sino: Death is your wife.
Manuel Rodríguez Sánchez "Manolete": You're all I can fight when you talk to me this way.

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Connections

Referenced in Special Collector's Edition: Christine (2013)

User Reviews

nice

nice costumes, great cast. and a lot of crumbs. the sin of film is the lost of story. nothing coherent, few poetic images, many good intentions and a fake result - too pink, too kitsch, too unrealistic. the solutions are many for save the story. but the great problem is the absence of a clear project. it is a film about corrida and a legendary matador, about love and infidelity, about the vulnerability of a hero but nothing profound - only a large collection of sketches without a real purpose. for Adrien Brody and Penelope Cruz the film is only occasion for another role. but that is the basic problem. why that actors for a confuse project ?a film like many others. not bad. only uninspired.

Details

Official Sites:

3L Filmverleih [Germany] Quinta Distribution [France]

Country:

Spain UK France USA Germany

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

31 March 2010 (France)

Also Known As:

A Matador's Mistress

Filming Locations:

Carmona, Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$724,785

Company Credits

Production Co:

Iberoamericana Films Producción, Future Films, Manolete Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 115 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1