''Lovers'' ( es, Amantes) is a 1991
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
film noir written and directed by
Vicente Aranda
Vicente Aranda Ezquerra (; 9 November 1926 – 26 May 2015) was a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.
Due to his refined and personal style, he was one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a founding member ...
, starring
Victoria Abril
Victoria Mérida Rojas (born 4 July 1959), better known as Victoria Abril, is a Spanish film actress and singer based in France. She is possibly best known to international audiences for her performance in the film ''Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!'' by ...
,
Jorge Sanz
Jorge Sanz Miranda (born 26 August 1969) is a Spanish actor and one of the most prominent actors of the Spanish cinema since the 1980s. He is known to international audiences for his roles in the films: '' Amantes'' (1991) by director Vicente Ara ...
and
Maribel Verdú
MarÃa Isabel Verdú Rollán (; born 2 October 1970) is a Spanish actress. Some of her film credits include performances in '' Lovers'', ''Belle Époque'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Pan's Labyrinth'', '' The Blind Sunflowers'' and ''Snow Whi ...
. The film brought Aranda to widespread attention in the English-speaking world. It won two
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain.
The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...
(Best Film and Best Director) and is considered one of the best Spanish films of the 1990s.
Plot
In
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, in the mid-1950s, Paco - a handsome young man from the provinces, serving the last days of his military service - is in search of both lodging and a steady job. He is engaged to be married to his major's maid, Trini, who is not only sweet and pretty, but has also saved up a sizable amount of money through years of hard work and frugal living, which will enable her and Paco to start their lives together comfortably. With a factory job lined up, Paco moves out of his barracks and looks for somewhere to live until the wedding. Trini unwittingly refers him to Luisa, a beautiful widow who periodically takes in boarders and rents him a spare bedroom.
Besides supplementing her income with boarders, Luisa engages in swindles with underworld contracts, and is not above cheating her partners by skimming money off her illicit earnings. Instantly smitten by Paco, the attractive Luisa quickly seduces her new tenant. Frustrated by his unfruitful job hunt and by Trini's refusal to sleep with him until they are married, Paco offers little resistance when Luisa seduces him, initiating an affair. He is dazzled with the sexual delight to which she introduces him. So intense is Paco's attraction for Luisa, that he abandons Trini for long periods, finally showing up at the major's house to spend Christmas Eve with her. Trini feels a distance between herself and Paco, and while the couple are strolling in the street, she is surprised to see the 'old widow' and immediately guesses that she and Paco are having a relationship.
Trini seeks the advice of the major's wife, who tells her that she should use her own sexual powers to win Paco back. Waiting for Luisa to leave the apartment, Trini goes to Paco's room and gives herself to him, making sure that Luisa later sees her leaving. At first, her tactic works and Paco re-affirms his love for her, and they leave to visit Trini's mother in her village. However, Trini is no match for her rival as a lover, and Paco cannot get Luisa out of his mind.
When Paco and Trini come back to Madrid, he is willing to continue his twin relationship, but Luisa - who knows of Trini's existence - is wildly jealous of her rival. Things become more complicated for Paco by Luisa's shady business dealings with Minuta and Gordo, members of a gang of swindlers to whom she owes money. They have threatened her life, and Paco, attempting to aid his lover, suggests that he get the money by swindling Trini of her savings. Luisa would prefer that they simply kill Trini, but proposes that Paco should marry Trini, then steal her savings and run away with Luisa. Paco uneasily agrees.
The plan is for Paco to propose marriage to Trini and bring her to the provincial city of Aranda del Duero, where they have planned to purchase a bar. Under that pretense, Paco and Trini leave Madrid. Luisa follows them, unsure of Paco's resolve. While Trini is asleep, Paco steals the money from her handbag. He offers it to Luisa, but pulls out of their plan to flee together. Very upset, Luisa tells him he has botched the plan, and when he tells her to wait and, 'Things will be okay,' she excitedly utters, 'Kill her!', and walks away, tossing the money at her feet – it is Paco she wants. Paco retrieves the money, and, driven by guilt, he returns to Trini to explain the situation. After the disappearance of the money, Trini realises the fraud and understands that her love for Paco is doomed.
When Paco comes back to the hotel room and confesses the plan, Trini locks herself in the bathroom and attempts to commit suicide using Paco's razor. She is thwarted by Paco breaking the window and snatching the razor from her. Later, as the two sit in the rain on a bench in front of the cathedral of the town, Trini refuses to forgive Paco, and tells him she prefers death to abandonment. Thwarted in her attempt to cut her own wrist with Paco's razor, she begs him to kill her since that is what he really wants. He does so, then rushes to the train station to prevent Luisa from leaving. Placing his bloody hands on her compartment window, signalling to Luisa that the mission has been accomplished, she gets off the moving train. The couple embraces passionately on the platform, as the train pulls out. A title informs viewers that the police captured the pair, three days later.
Production and background
''Amantes'' had its origin in ''La Huella del Crimen'' (''The Trace of the Crime''), a Spanish television series depicting infamous crimes that happened in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, and for which
Vicente Aranda
Vicente Aranda Ezquerra (; 9 November 1926 – 26 May 2015) was a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.
Due to his refined and personal style, he was one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a founding member ...
had directed the chapter ''
El Crimen del Capitán Sánchez'' ''(Captain Sánchez's Crime)'' in 1984. The success of this production, made for
TVE, compelled producer Pedro Costa to develop a follow-up.
[Guarner, José Luis: ''El Inquietante Cine de Vicente Aranda'', Imagfic, D.L.1985, p. 66] In the new installment of the series, there was to be an episode called ''Los Amantes de Tetuán'' (''The Lovers of Tetuán''), the story of a real life crime committed by a couple living in the district of Tetuán de las Victorias, a working class sector of
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
. The actual crime took place in 1949 in La Canal, a small village near
Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...
, and so it was also dubbed as 'El Crimen de La Canal' ('Crime at La Canal').
The event itself concerned a widow, Francisca Sánchez Morales, engaged in blackmailing and who persuaded a young man, José GarcÃa San Juan, to kill his young wife, Dominga del Pino RodrÃguez. Three days later, the couple were caught and never saw each other again. They were condemned to capital punishment, still prevailing by those years in Spain (not even their attorney wanted to defend them). Eventually, they got their sentences commuted and they served between ten and twelve years. The widow died of a heart attack just after leaving jail, and the young man started a new, anonymous and prosperous life in
Zaragoza
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...
.
A re-interpretation of the crime was built up during the pre-production of ''Los Amantes de Tetuán''. The script was written by Aranda, Alvaro del Amo, and Carlos Perez Merinero, using some elements of the actual crime and reinventing many others to recreate the background of the characters, about which little was known. The television project was halted from 1987 to 1990, and when the time came to start production, ''Los Amantes de Tetuán'' took a separate life from ''La Huella del Crimen''. It was going to be the last chapter to be filmed because
Vicente Aranda
Vicente Aranda Ezquerra (; 9 November 1926 – 26 May 2015) was a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.
Due to his refined and personal style, he was one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a founding member ...
was immersed in the making of a mini-series for
TVE. By then, Aranda was initially reluctant to make another production for television, and proposed to expand the script and make it into a full feature film for the big screen.
Thanks to the recent success of his television mini-series, ''
Los Jinetes del Alba
Riders of the Dawn ( es, Los Jinetes del Alba) is a 1990 Spain, Spanish film, written and directed by Vicente Aranda, an adaptation of a novel by Jesús Fernández Santos. It stars Victoria Abril and Jorge Sanz.
Made as five-episode television ...
'', the project was approved by
TVE.
The original title, ''Los Amantes de Tetuán'', was shortened to simply ''Amantes'' to avoid confusion with the North African city of the same name. The events were moved from the 1940s to an unspecific time in the 1950s.
[In the film dialogue, Trini and Paco mention going to the movies to watch '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (film)'', which came out in May 1955. The setting would then be from Christmas 1955 to January 1956] for both economic and dramatic reasons. It was cheaper to recreate the period of the 1950s, and Aranda considered the decade more appealing for modern audiences. The real life crime story was treated in the same way
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hol ...
used the facts that inspired his adaptation of ''
Double Indemnity'', the novel by
James M. Cain. ''
Las Edades de Lulu'', a movie directed by
Bigas Luna
José Juan Bigas Luna (19 March 1946 – 5 April 2013) was a Spanish film director, designer and artist. His films are typically characterised by a strong emphasis on the erotic, often related to food, something for which he admitted a strong pa ...
and which had been seen by Aranda, inspired the
eroticism
Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sc ...
of the film.
The most famous sequence of the film in which Luisa introduces a handkerchief in Paco’s anus, to withdraw it in the moment of climax, was not in the script. Aranda explained:
: 'I told the actors that I felt something was lacking and that we needed something more explicit, a novelty. I opened a kind of contest and each one gave different options.
Jorge Sanz
Jorge Sanz Miranda (born 26 August 1969) is a Spanish actor and one of the most prominent actors of the Spanish cinema since the 1980s. He is known to international audiences for his roles in the films: '' Amantes'' (1991) by director Vicente Ara ...
came out with the idea of the handkerchief. The production was successful team collaboration. From the beginning at the preparation of the film, there was a spirit of team collaboration, something very positive that made our work fun. I don’t know why, but we all knew we were making a film that was going to be important.''
The intense and tragic climax was benefited by the weather, with a
snowstorm
A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these storms are not necessar ...
that was not scheduled at all for the shooting, as producer Costa explained through the
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
commentaries. That scene, filmed in front of the famous
Burgos Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos ( es, Santa Iglesia BasÃlica Catedral Metropolitana de Santa MarÃa de Burgos) is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in the historical center of the Spanish city of Burgos. Its official n ...
, was articulated around two popular Spanish Christmas carols, ''Dime, Niño, de Quién Eres'' and ''La Marimorena'', whose traditional cheerful melody, by contrast, is changed for the score into one that is elegiac and sad. The score was composed by Jose Nieto, often working with Aranda (''
Intruso'', ''
Celos'', ''
Juana la Loca
Joanna (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad ( es, link=no, Juana la Loca), was the nominal Queen of Castile from 1504 and Queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was married by arrangement to Phi ...
'' and ''
Carmen'') and the film editor was Aranda’s regular, his wife Teresa Font. Equally noteworthy is the film’s striking cinematography by
Jose Luis Alcaine, with whom Aranda had previously worked on no fewer than five films. Alcaine is especially adept at evoking the 'sooty' look of Madrid winters, which convey the somber qualities of urban life during the early years of
Francoist Spain
Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...
.
[D’Lugo, Marvin: '' Guide to the Cinema of Spain'', Greenwood Press, 1997, p.32]
Cast
Victoria Abril
Victoria Mérida Rojas (born 4 July 1959), better known as Victoria Abril, is a Spanish film actress and singer based in France. She is possibly best known to international audiences for her performance in the film ''Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!'' by ...
, here in her ninth collaboration with Vicente Aranda, was thought of from the beginning for the role of Trini, the virginal maid, while
Concha Velasco
Concepción Velasco Varona OAXS MML (born 29 November 1939), known professionally as Concha Velasco, or Conchita Velasco in her beginnings, is a Spanish actress, singer and television presenter. She has received numerous accolades throughou ...
was offered the role of Luisa. When Velasco declined, Aranda deemed Victoria was mature enough to play Luisa and proposed her to switch roles and take that of the widow. She was reluctant, saying that she saw herself more as Trini, the sacrificial maid rather than the wicked widow. Abril was pregnant; by the time she gave birth, she was ready to start the film, had had a change of heart and agreed to be Luisa.
[Vicente Aranda, 2006 Declaración de Intenciones www.vicentearanda.es.]
The role of Trini fell on
Maribel Verdú
MarÃa Isabel Verdú Rollán (; born 2 October 1970) is a Spanish actress. Some of her film credits include performances in '' Lovers'', ''Belle Époque'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Pan's Labyrinth'', '' The Blind Sunflowers'' and ''Snow Whi ...
, a young actress who had made her film debut with Aranda in ''
El Crimen del Capitán Sánchez'' (''Captain Sánchez's Crime'') in 1984, as the younger sister of
Victoria Abril
Victoria Mérida Rojas (born 4 July 1959), better known as Victoria Abril, is a Spanish film actress and singer based in France. She is possibly best known to international audiences for her performance in the film ''Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!'' by ...
's character, and who was the leading actress of that film.
Maribel Verdú
MarÃa Isabel Verdú Rollán (; born 2 October 1970) is a Spanish actress. Some of her film credits include performances in '' Lovers'', ''Belle Époque'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Pan's Labyrinth'', '' The Blind Sunflowers'' and ''Snow Whi ...
, whose artistic culmination maybe is
Ricardo Franco
Ricardo Franco (24 May 1949 in Madrid – 20 May 1998 in Madrid) was a Spanish screenwriter and film director.
Biography
Nephew of Jesús Franco. He died at 49 years old when he filmed ''Lágrimas negras (film), Lágrimas negras''.
He wrote ...
's ''
La Buena Estrella'' (1997), is better known internationally for her roles in
Alfonso Cuarón’s ''
Y tu mamá también'' (2000) and in
Guillermo del Toro's ''
Pan's Labyrinth
''Pan's Labyrinth'' ( es, El laberinto del fauno, lit=The Labyrinth of the Faun, links=no) is a 2006 dark fantasy horror film written, directed and co-produced by Guillermo del Toro. A Spanish-Mexican(78% Spanish production, 22% Mexican productio ...
'' (2006).
At first, Aranda thought about
Antonio Banderas as Paco, but the actor had already undertaken work on
Arne Glimcher
Arnold "Arne" Glimcher (born March 12, 1938) is an American art dealer, gallerist, film producer, and film director. He is the founder of The Pace Gallery. Glimcher has produced and directed several films, including '' The Mambo Kings'' and '' ...
's ''
The Mambo Kings
''The Mambo Kings'' is a 1992 musical drama film based on the 1989 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel ''The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love'' by Oscar Hijuelos. The film was directed and produced by Arne Glimcher, and stars Armand Assante, Antonio B ...
'' (1992), and the role was assigned to
Jorge Sanz
Jorge Sanz Miranda (born 26 August 1969) is a Spanish actor and one of the most prominent actors of the Spanish cinema since the 1980s. He is known to international audiences for his roles in the films: '' Amantes'' (1991) by director Vicente Ara ...
, who would later become best known to English-speaking audiences playing the role of the young soldier who falls in love with four sisters in ''
Belle Époque'' (1993), which won the
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
for Best Foreign Language Film. Sanz had won a
Goya Award
The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain.
The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...
as Best Actor for Aranda's ''
Si Te Dicen que CaÃ'', which also starred Abril. The three lead actors of ''Amantes'' had acted together before in another love triangle, in Aranda's previous project, ''
Los Jinetes del Alba
Riders of the Dawn ( es, Los Jinetes del Alba) is a 1990 Spain, Spanish film, written and directed by Vicente Aranda, an adaptation of a novel by Jesús Fernández Santos. It stars Victoria Abril and Jorge Sanz.
Made as five-episode television ...
''.
*
Victoria Abril
Victoria Mérida Rojas (born 4 July 1959), better known as Victoria Abril, is a Spanish film actress and singer based in France. She is possibly best known to international audiences for her performance in the film ''Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!'' by ...
- Luisa
*
Jorge Sanz
Jorge Sanz Miranda (born 26 August 1969) is a Spanish actor and one of the most prominent actors of the Spanish cinema since the 1980s. He is known to international audiences for his roles in the films: '' Amantes'' (1991) by director Vicente Ara ...
- Paco
*
Maribel Verdú
MarÃa Isabel Verdú Rollán (; born 2 October 1970) is a Spanish actress. Some of her film credits include performances in '' Lovers'', ''Belle Époque'', ''Y tu mamá también'', ''Pan's Labyrinth'', '' The Blind Sunflowers'' and ''Snow Whi ...
- Trini
* Enrique Cerro - commandant
* Mabel Escaño - commandant's wife
* Alicia Agut -Trini's mother
* Jose Cerro - Minuta
* Gabriel Latorre - Gordo
* Saturnino Garcia - Pueblerino
Themes
One of the main themes of ''Amantes'' is the destructive potential of obsessive passion and sexual desire a topic further explore by Aranda in ''
La Pasion Turca'' (1994). ''Amantes'' forms - with ''
Intruso'' (1993) and ''
Celos'' (1999) - a trilogy of films about love as uncontrollable passion that ends tragically. These three films, directed by Aranda, are loosely based on real crime stories.
Analysis
In ''Amantes'', Aranda focuses tightly on his three leading actors, effectively conveying the dreadful, consuming power of passion. The films portrays a mortal struggle between a strong phallic widow and a younger patriarchal woman for the love of a young man in a romantic love triangle. The widow derives her power from an intense sexuality and the religious idealism belongs to the young victim.
[Kinder, Marsha: '' Blood Cinema: The Reconstruction of National Identity in Spain'', Berkeley University Press, 1993. p. 206] Set in film noir genre, it depicts the young man, Paco, not as the master of the two women who love him, but as the malleable object of their competing scenarios.
Luisa is introduced with a mouthful of candy, and draped with Christmas tinsel, almost as though she were a gift to the sexually frustrated Paco. Aranda thus sets up his central conflict with precision and power. Despite the physical beauty of the two women, it is the handsome young man who is treated as the primary object of desire. He is seduced by both women and is the object of the camera's erotic gaze.
[Kinder, Marsha: '' Blood Cinema: The Reconstruction of National Identity in Spain'', Berkeley University Press, 1993. p. 207] He embodies the 1950s generation torn between 'two Spains', represented by the two female rivals. Identified with the images of rural
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, Trini is the traditionally stoically self-sacrificing embodiment of
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Spain, versus the modern vision of a newly emerging industrialized Spain, incarnated in Luisa, who is identified with the city and with the iconography of foreign culture (kimono, Christmas tree ornaments), representing the modernizing version of Spain.
Though the narrative eventually cast Luisa as the heartless instigator of Trini's murder, she can also be perceived as a rebel against the oppression of a macho culture while Paco, a traditional tragic film noir hero, is turned into a murderer by the two women who love him.
Despite being positioned as the opposing stereotypes of virgin and whore, Trini and Luisa are equally passionate and strong willed. Both are frequently robed in blue, a color feature in traditional pictorial representations of the virgin, and Trini takes with her a painting of the
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
, hanging it in the hotel room just before her death. While Luisa directs her violent passions outwards, confessing to Paco that she murdered her husband, Trini turns them inwards on herself, following in the footsteps of her lame mother, who threw herself in front of a cart after learning of her husband's infidelity.
Just as Luisa forced Paco to take hold of his penis in their pursuits of pleasure, Trini coerces him to wield the razor that will release her from pain.
The sexual scenes of the film are designed to underscore the female domination of the male, even in terms of his sexual identity. ''Amantes'' forcefully depicts the subversive power of Luisa's sexuality. From the moment she opens the door to Paco, wearing a colorful dark blue robe and draped with glittering streamers she is using to decorate a
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
tree, Luisa appears as a profane alternative to the
Madonna. Her body substitutes for the Christmas tree and all of its religious symbolism, offering eroticism in place of religious ecstasy. Not only is she the sexual subject who actively pursues her own desire and who first seduces Paco, but she continues to control the love-making. In a graphic sex scene, we see her penetrating his anus with a silk handkerchief and then withdrawing it in the moments of ecstasy. Despite her sexually dominating her young lover, Luisa remains loving and emotionally vulnerable. Paco's response not only makes him obsessed, but he rejects the more traditional passive sexuality of his fiancéé Trini.
The murder scene is remarkable for its under-stated approach. Staged on a bench in front of the cathedral of
Burgos
Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos.
Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...
(the small town of Aranda del Duero, in the film), the murder retains the aura of Christian ritual, especially since the minimalist representation of violence is limited to a few close-ups of the victim's barefoot and a few drops of bright red blood falling on the pure white snow. Earlier, Paco had sat on the same bench praying, observed by a beautiful young mother who was carrying a bright blue umbrella and tying the shoelace of her young son, a symbolic Madonna who seems to foresee the murder.
In the final scene, Paco goes to the train station to find Luisa. Pressing his bloody hands against the window, he draws her off the train for a final murderous embrace, a shot that is held, then blurs and finally freezes, signifying the triumph of their passion. A printed epilogue delivers the ironic moralizing punch line to the narrative. Three days later, Paco and Luisa were arrested in Valladolid (a city well known for its right-wing sentiments) and they never saw each other again.
''Amantes'' and other films
''Amantes'' has elements from ''
Double Indemnity''; Luisa frequently wears dark glasses, like the character played by
Barbara Stanwyck. There are also similarities to
François Truffaut’s ''
La Femme d'à côté'', another ''amour fou'' film in which a lame older woman's own story foretells the tragic end.
Vicente Aranda
Vicente Aranda Ezquerra (; 9 November 1926 – 26 May 2015) was a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.
Due to his refined and personal style, he was one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a founding member ...
’s cold style portraying unrestrained passions has also been compared to the similar approach to passion in
Ingmar Bergman’s films. The American movie ''
To Die For
''To Die For'' is a 1995 satirical black comedy film directed by Gus Van Sant, and written by Buck Henry based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Maynard, which in turn was inspired by the story of Pamela Smart. It stars Nicole Kidman, Joa ...
'', was inspired by the
Pamela Smart
Pamela Ann Smart (née Wojas; born August 16, 1967) is an American woman who was convicted of being an accomplice to first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and witness tampering. In 1990, at age 22, Smart conspired with her underaged ...
case (the most famous crime in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
history) was compared to the similar plot of ''Amantes''.
Reception
''Amantes'' opened in February 1991 at the
41st Berlin International Film Festival
The 41st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1991. The festival opened with ''Uranus'' by Claude Berri. The Golden Bear was awarded to Italian film '' La casa del sorriso'' directed by Marco Ferreri. The ret ...
where
Victoria Abril
Victoria Mérida Rojas (born 4 July 1959), better known as Victoria Abril, is a Spanish film actress and singer based in France. She is possibly best known to international audiences for her performance in the film ''Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!'' by ...
won the
Silver Bear for Best Actress
The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chos ...
.
In
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
it was a great success with critics and audiences and won two
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain.
The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...
including Best Film and Best director.
''Amantes'' was the first of Aranda’s films to get an American release, opening in March 1992 and becoming an important art house hit, getting more than one and a half million dollars at the box-office. The movie shocked audiences because of the frankness of its sex scenes.
The film remains
Vicente Aranda
Vicente Aranda Ezquerra (; 9 November 1926 – 26 May 2015) was a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.
Due to his refined and personal style, he was one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a founding member ...
’s best-regarded work; he explained 'Whenever someone wants to flatter me, they bring up the subject of ''Amantes''. I haven’t been able to make a film that takes its place.'
Awards and nominations
, -
, rowspan = "7" align = "center" , 1991 , ,
41st Berlin International Film Festival
The 41st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1991. The festival opened with ''Uranus'' by Claude Berri. The Golden Bear was awarded to Italian film '' La casa del sorriso'' directed by Marco Ferreri. The ret ...
, ,
Silver Bear for Best Actress
The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chos ...
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Sant Jordi Awards
The Sant Jordi Awards ( ca, Premis Sant Jordi, links=no; es, Premios Sant Jordi, links=no) are film prizes awarded annually by the Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
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6th Goya Awards
The 6th Goya Awards were presented in Madrid, Spain
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is th ...
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Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
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Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
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Best Original Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...
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Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...
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Fotogramas de Plata
Fotogramas de Plata are a series of Spanish annual film, theatre and television awards awarded by ''Fotogramas'' film magazine since 1951.
On 5 February 1951, ''Fotogramas'' magazine awarded their first Placa de San Juan Bosco award to actor Jesà ...
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References
Bibliography
* Alvarez, Rosa y Frias Belen, ''Vicente Aranda: El Cine Como Pasión'', Huelva, XX Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva, 1994
* Cánovás BelchÃ, JoaquÃn (ed.), Varios Autores,: ''Miradas sobre el cine de Vicente Aranda'', Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, 2000.P. Madrid
* Colmena, Enrique: ''Vicente Aranda'', Cátedra, Madrid, 1986,
* Guarner, José Luis: ''El Inquietante Cine de Vicente Aranda'',Imagfic, D.L.1985.
* Kinder, Marsha: '' Blood Cinema: The Reconstruction of National Identity in Spain'', Berkeley University Press, 1993.
* D’Lugo, Marvin: '' Guide to the Cinema of Spain'', Greenwood Press, 1997.
External links
Vicente Aranda at IMDBWeb Oficial de Vicente Aranda*
{{Authority control
1991 films
1990s Spanish-language films
1991 crime drama films
Best Film Goya Award winners
Films directed by Vicente Aranda
Films shot in Madrid
Crime films based on actual events
Spanish crime drama films
1990s Spanish films
Spanish neo-noir films