The Photographer of Mauthausen (2018)

Based on real events, Francesc Boix is a Spaniard inmate in the Nazi concentration camp of Mauthausen in Austria who tries to save the evidences of the horrors committed inside its walls.

Director:

Mar Targarona

Writers:

Roger Danès, Alfred Pérez Fargas (as Alfred Pérez-Fargas)

Stars:

Mario Casas, Richard van Weyden, Alain Hernández

4 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mario Casas	...	Boix
Richard van Weyden	...	Ricken
Alain Hernández	...	Valbuena
Adrià Salazar	...	Anselmo
Eduard Buch	...	Fonseca
Stefan Weinert	...	Ziereis
Nikola Stojanovic	...	Bonarewitz
Rubén Yuste	...	Rosales
Frank Feys	...	Popeye
Marc Rodríguez	...	Enfermero
Albert Mora	...	Músico
Joan Negrié	...	Lejías
Luka Peros	...	Schulz
Rainer Reiners	...	Poschacher
Toni Gomila	...	Francisco

Storyline

1943. With the World War II in the maximum exchange of hostilities, life is too merciless and cruel for the inmates who live in the camp of Mauthausen, where between others they are the soldiers who fought and lost in the Spanish Civil War, exiled from Spain by General Franco after to won the war, considering them as no men's land and gifted to Third Reich as free workforce. In this scenery of eternal horror and brutality caused by the Nazis and the Kapos (violent inmates who work as guards to keep the order), young Francesc Boix tries to survive in the camp working as photographer being Paul Ricken's right-hand, Mauthausen's warden. Boix's daily life taking photos, talking with another inmates as Balbuena and Fonseca and making files of the dead inmates who died in failed escapes changes after to realize in an amateur radio created by them that the Third Reich have loss against Soviet Army in the Battle of Stalingrad. Fearing that Ricken and the rest of the Nazis make disappear all ...

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | prisoner | execution | cremation | spanish civil war | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

The party scene is supposed to be set in Austria in spring, however it was shot in Budapest during winter. It snowed heavily the previous day and the art department had to melt the snow before the shoot.

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Goofs

A perfect example how once solidified cliches tend to multiply themselves. The Graflex reporter camera was used by American photojournalists in the 1930-1950s and they became iconic in Hollywood movies. But why should they be used in Germany, the country leading the photographic industry worldwide for almost a century before and another 20 years after WWII? They produced and used their own gear that was nr. 1 in quality and had not why to use the crude Graflex. Besides, the specific Graflex model used in this movie is one produced after the war.

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Quotes

Paul Ricken: A good photographer must know how to paint with light.
Francesc Boix: That is cheating.
Paul Ricken: This is art.
Paul Ricken: Some pictures have to be touched up. Some others, only the staging. Human beings are malleable.

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Connections

Featured in Premios Goya 33 edición (2019)

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Soundtracks

Corrandes d'exili
Written by Lluís Llach and Pere Quart (as Juan Oliver Sallares)
Performed by Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Raül Fernández Miró (as Raül Fernández) and Ernesto Snajer

User Reviews

An extremely underrated film. A must watch.

A film that brilliantly portays the true horrors committed by the Nazis and how the victims fought back. The filmography is quite elegant and so was the acting. The 6.5 rating(at the time of writing) is quite an understatement.

Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish German

Release Date:

26 October 2018 (Spain)

Also Known As:

El fotógrafo de Mauthausen

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,701,645

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Factory, FilmTeam, Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1