''The Heart of the Earth'' ( es, El corazón de la tierra, links=no) is a 2007 historical drama film directed by from a screenplay he wrote with Shelley Miller, and

Doc Comparato Luís Filipe Loureiro Comparato (born in 1949), known as Doc Comparato, is a Brazil, Brazilian writer of miniseries, television series and Brazilian cinema. Career He was a founder of the Centro de Criação da Rede Globo, acting as writer of show ...

, based on the novel of the same name by . It is a Spanish-British-Portuguese co-production. Its cast features

Catalina Sandino Moreno Catalina Sandino Moreno (born 19 April 1981) is a Colombian actress. She shared the Silver Bear with Charlize Theron and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her leading role in ''Maria Full of Grace'' (2004). She cu ...

Sienna Guillory Sienna Tiggy Guillory (; born 16 March 1975) is an English actress and former model. She portrayed Jill Valentine in several entries of the ''Resident Evil'' action-horror film series. Other prominent roles include elf princess Arya Dröttningu ...

Philip Winchester Philip Charles Winchester (born March 24, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in '' The Patriot'', ''The Hi-Line'', '' LD 50 Lethal Dose'', '' Thunderbirds'', ''CSI: Miami'', ''King Lear'', '' Strike Back'', '' Flyboys'', ''In M ...

Bernard Hill Bernard Hill (born 17 December 1944) is an English actor. He is well recognized for playing King Théoden in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Captain Edward Smith in ''Titanic'', and Luther Plunkitt, the Warden of San Quentin Prison in the ...

Joaquim de Almeida Joaquim António Portugal Baptista de Almeida (born 15 March 1957) is a Portuguese actor. Almeida began his acting career in theatre during the 1980s, he started his film career appearing on the 1982 action film '' The Soldier'', and later ach ...

Jorge Perugorría Jorge Perugorría Rodríguez (aka "Pichi," born 13 August 1965) is a Cuban actor, film director and painter. He is well known for his part as Diego in ''Strawberry and Chocolate'' (original title in Spanish ''Fresa y chocolate'' (co-directed by ...

, and Ana Fernández, among others.

Plot

The plot is set against the backdrop of the February 1888 miners' protest in the Spanish

province of Huelva Huelva () is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva. Its area is 10,1 ...

stirred by Cuban anarchist revolutionary , which was bloodily repressed by the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

, and the miners' deplorable working conditions in the Río Tinto copper mines under British employees, following the plight of Blanca (a teacher) and her friend Kathleen Crown, the daughter of the tyrannical manager of the mines, fifteen years after the events.

Cast

Release

The film premiered at the Miami Film Festival in March 2007. It received a pre-screening in Riotinto and Seville on 10 April 2007. Distributed by Zeta Audiovisual, it was released theatrically in Spain on 13 April 2007.

Production

''The Heart of the Earth'' is a Spanish-British-Portuguese co-production by Manufacturas Audiovisuales, Future Films, and Costa do Castelo, with the participation of

Canal Sur Canal Sur ('South Channel') is part of Radio y Televisión de Andalucía (RTVA), the public broadcasting company of Andalusia. It was created by means of the devolved powers given to this region by an Act of Parliament in its statute of autono ...

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

, ETB, IC, IB3,

TeleMadrid Telemadrid is a public regional television station in the Community of Madrid, Spain, the flagship channel of the regional public broadcaster Radio Televisión Madrid (RTVM). It began its broadcast on 2 May 1989. History First years Telemadr ...

, Canal 9, and

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

. It boasted a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

12.5 million budget. Shooting locations included

Linares de la Sierra Linares de la Sierra is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the province of Huelva (province), Huelva, Spain. According to the 2008 census, the municipality had a population of 305 inhabitants. References

Munici ...

Minas de Riotinto Minas or MINAS may refer to: People with the given name Minas * Menas of Ethiopia (died 1563) * Saint Menas (Minas, 285–309) * Minias of Florence (Minas, Miniato, died 250) * Minas Alozidis (born 1984), Greek hurdler * Minas Avetisyan (1928– ...

, Trigueros,

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...

, and

Madrid 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 the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Reception

Jonathan Holland of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that despite the "superb" concept involving the tragic, real-life 19th-century suppression of the miners rebellion, "the script rushes through the historical facts in the first half-hour and then becomes far-fetched in its invented stretches". of ''

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

'' assessed that despite Cuadri's "excellent camera handling" at shooting mining excavations and riots, as the film progresses, "the story becomes less and less transcendent, more and more Manichean and puerile".

Accolades

, - , align = "center" , 2007 , , 11th

Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) includes feature films, documentaries, and short films from the Spanish and Portuguese diaspora. The six-day festival was established in 1997. The festival was founded by Marlene Dermer (a ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , align = "center" , , - , rowspan = "2" align = "center" , 2008 , , rowspan = "2" ,

22nd Goya Awards The 22nd ceremony of the annual Goya Awards, took place at the Palacio de Congresos of the Campo de las Naciones in Madrid, Spain on February 3, 2008, presented by José Corbacho. On December 17, 2007, Juan Diego Botto and Ivana Baquero were re ...

, , Best Special Effects , ,

Reyes Abades Reyes Abades (25 July 1949 – 1 February 2018) was a Spanish specialist in special effects. He won nine Goya Awards. Abades worked on more than 300 productions. He contributed to the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1992 Summer Olympics in ...

, Álex G. Ortoll , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , , José Quetglás, Blanca Sánchez , ,

References

{{authority control Films set in Andalusia Films shot in the province of Huelva Films shot in Portugal Spanish historical drama films British historical drama films Portuguese historical drama films 2000s Spanish films 2000s British films 2000s Spanish-language films Films set in mining communities Films based on Spanish novels