Finding Altamira (2016)

Life and events of the man who realized one of the most important discoveries of the 19th century: Altamira's caves.

Director:

Hugh Hudson

Writers:

Olivia Hetreed, Olivia Hetreed

Stars:

Antonio Banderas, Clément Sibony, Rupert Everett

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Antonio Banderas	...	Marcelino
Clément Sibony	...	Émile Cartailhac
Rupert Everett	...	Monseñor
Javivi	...	Harlé (as Javivi Gil Valle)
Irene Escolar	...	María adulta
Pierre Niney	...	Paul Ratier
Nicholas Farrell	...	Vilanova
Allegra Allen	...	Young María Sautuola
Lluís Soler	...	Mero
Tábata Cerezo	...	Pasi
Golshifteh Farahani	...	Conchita
Chantal Garsan	...	Soprano
Concha Hidalgo	...	Marquesa
Katie Paterson	...	Carolina
Henry Goodman	...	De los Ríos

Storyline

Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola y de la Pedrueca, in 1868, accidentally discovered Paleolithic paintings with the help of a hunter named Modesto Cubillas inside Altamira's caves, located in Cantabria, north to Spain. Trying to expose their discovery to the academic world for that they study the paintings, Sautuola crashed against the skepticism and discredit of all experts, who claimed that the caves were false and the paintings made for the own Sautuola, in a effort to get rich. Looking for the truth, Sautuola was the rest of his life fighting to prove that those paintings were real, trying to restore his innocence from the accusations of falsehood launched against him.

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Plot Keywords:

cave | discovery | father daughter relationship | 19th century | spain | 

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Taglines:

Some secrets are too powerful to hide.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK France Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 2016 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Finding Altamira

Filming Locations:

Castro Urdiales, Cantabria, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

€8,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

€444,107 (Spain), 1 April 2016, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mare Nostrum Productions,El Maestro de Altamira, A.I.E.,Fox International Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mark Knopfler, singer and leader of Dire Straits, is the composer for the music of this film, in his first movie after A Shot at Glory (2000), 15 years ago. The same time that Hugh Hudson was absence from any film.

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Goofs

The sardine can in which the maid placed the burning marrow was clearly of modern stamped two piece construction rather than the three piece soldered type. Also, key opened cans weren't invented until 1889.

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Soundtracks

El Bugle Dorado
Performed by Escuela De Música N'Clave
Recording Engineer Alfredo Díaz (-12DB Madrid)

User Reviews

Finding Truth

Based upon a true story

1879 in Spain, Marcelino (Antonio Banderas) discovers a cave that contains drawings from the Paleolithic Era (Stone Age). Of course, this claim is disputed as a forgery by the main Council of Anthropologists, the Catholic Church that criticized Marcelino for his scientific not religious views, the press that prints he is unfit to be a father and worse of all by Conchita (Golshifteh Farahani) his wife who sides with the Church. Most believed that the cavemen did not have the intellectual capacity to perform the drawings.

Marcelino stands his ground although he is thoroughly humiliated. His 9-year old daughter Maria (Allegra Allen) who was the one who actually discovered the cave drawings of bisons stands by him. Marcelino determines how the cavemen did the drawings in a dark cave without putting soot on the ceilings. But he could not figure out why the walls showed bisons when no bison bones were ever found in the area. (The movie didn't address this either)

I really liked the Confessional Scene between Conchita and the head priest when she tells him off really good and defends her husband . (Hey, I cheered when she did this) She came around when she learned how the Cavemen did the drawings without putting soot on the cave ceilings and then she tells Marcelino she wants to see the cave. It must have been her belief in him that mattered the most to Marcelino. And it should have.

Marcelino learned that finding the truth isn't all that easy. After Marcelino's death, his chief critic, Emile Cartailhac (Clement Sibony), admitted his mistake and issued an apology in the main Anthropologic magazine.

The acting all around is good, but when everyone spoke with a Spanish accent it was sometimes difficult to understand all dialogues, but we got the idea eventually. The young Maria was the only one who spoke clearly without any accent. (You go girl!)

Go to Wikipedia to learn more about these famous Altamira drawings from the Paleolithic Era. Wikipedia says some of the drawings in that cave go back 35,000+ years. (7/10)

Violence: No. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.