''Camino'' is a 2008 Spanish drama film directed by

Javier Fesser Javier Fesser Pérez de Petinto (Madrid, born 15 February 1964) is a Spanish film director and publicist. He is a multiple Goya Award winner for his films '' Camino'' and Mortadelo y Filemón contra Jimmy el Cachondo, and an Academy Award nominee ...

starring Nerea Camacho as the title character alongside Carmen Elías,

Mariano Venancio Mariano Venancio (born 1947) is a Spanish stage, television and film actor. Biography Mariano Venancio was born in Salamanca in 1947. He studied childhood education () in Salamanca but moved to Madrid to train his acting chops and pursue a care ...

and Manuela Vellés. The plot is inspired by (and dedicated to) the real story of Alexia González-Barros, a girl who died from spinal cancer at age 14 in 1985 and who is in process of canonization. The girl's family (related to the Opus Dei) did not agree with the film and so controversy mired the film since the very beginning, and arguably only served to increase interest in the film. The film swept the

23rd Goya Awards The 23rd Goya Awards honouring the best in Spanish filmmaking of 2008 were presented on 1 February 2009 at the Madrid's Palacio Municipal de Congresos. The gala was hosted by Carmen Machi, also featuring Muchachada Nui. '' Camino'' was the big w ...

, winning in 6 categories, including 4 of the Big 5 (

Best Picture 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 ...

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, Original Screenplay and

Actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Plot

Camino and her family belong to the Opus Dei. She develops a crush for a boy (Cuco/Jesús). Camino's elder sister is a

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 ...

acolyte An acolyte is an assistant or follower assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession. In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone performing ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used f ...

, deliberately kept from contacting her family. Suppressing open signs of normal maternal grief, the mother seems almost inhuman in urging her dying daughter to "offer up" her suffering for Jesus. The father struggles to protect his daughter from a concerted effort to canonize her (even before her death) by his wife, elder daughter, and Catholic officials. Even the hospital medical staff seem to be complicit in this. ''Jesús'', the name Camino invokes, is not

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, but that of her normal schoolgirl crush. This is shown in dream sequences she experiences throughout the film.

Cast

Release

The film premiered at the

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; es, Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, eu, Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in ...

's official competition. Distributed by Alta Classics, it was theatrically released in Spain on 17 October 2008.

Reception

The film won six

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 picture, best director, and best original screenplay.

Criticism by the González-Barros family

Alexia's siblings said that the film was a distortion of the girl's history. They also objected to Fesser's use of Alexia's full name in his dedication, despite him having undertaken not to directly identify her. In reaction to the film, director Pedro Delgado released a documentary about the life of Alexia González-Barros in 2011, including video footage from the latter's family archives.

Accolades

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Forqué Awards The Forqué Awards or José María Forqué Awards ( es, Premios Forqué, links=no, also ) are film and television awards presented by the association of audiovisual producers , honoring the best of Spanish cinema and television. History Created ...

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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 * BA ...

, , Javier Fesser , , , - ,

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 ...

, , Javier Fesser , , , - ,

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 ...

, , Carme Elias , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , Jordi Dauder , , , - , Best New Actress , , Nerea Camacho , , , - , Best Special Effects , , Arturo Balseiro, Ferrán Piquer, Raúl Romanillos , , , - , rowspan = "6" ,

18th Actors and Actresses Union Awards The 18th Actors and Actresses Union Awards ceremony was held on 9 March 2009 at the Teatro Circo Price in Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid met ...

, , Best Film Actress in a Leading Role , , Carmen Elías , , , , rowspan = "6" , , - , Best Film Actor in a Leading Role , , Mariano Venancio , , , - , Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role , , Jordi Dauder , , , - , rowspan = "2" , Best Film Actress in a Minor Role , , Lola Casamayor , , , - , Ana Gracia , , , - , Best Film Actor in a Minor Role , , Pepe Ocio , , , - ,

Vilnius International Film Festival The Vilnius International Film Festival (VIFF) Kino pavasaris is a film festival held annually in March in Vilnius, Lithuania since 1995, and is the largest film festival in the nation in number of films and audience. It is one of the most anticipa ...

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References

External links

* {{Goya Award for Best Film 2008 films 2008 drama films 2000s Spanish-language films Best Film Goya Award winners Films featuring a Best Actress Goya Award-winning performance Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Goya Award-winning performance Films shot in Madrid Films about Opus Dei Films shot in Almería Spanish drama films 2000s Spanish films Films about dreams