''El Sur'' ("The South") is a

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by the

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 ...

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

Victor Erice The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

, produced by Elias Querejeta, starring

Icíar Bollaín Icíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez (born 12 June 1967) is a Spanish filmmaker and actress. Early life and education Icíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez was born in Madrid on 12 June 1967. She was one of twin girls to a father who was an aeronautical ...

as the adult main character. Written by Jose Luis Lopez Linares, it is based on

Adelaida García Morales Adelaida García Morales (1945, in Badajoz, Spain – 22 September 2014, in Dos Hermanas, Spain) was a Spanish writer. Life and work Born in Badajoz, García Morales moved at the age of 13 to Seville, her parents' home town. She lived there for m ...

' short novel of the same name. As in the novella, the screenplay takes place solely in the north of Spain, however the novella picks up where the screenplay leaves off, taking Estrella on a journey to the south of Spain. Producer

Elías Querejeta Elías Querejeta Gárate (27 October 1934 – 9 June 2013), also known as Elías Querejeta () and known in the Spanish film industry as "The Producer", was a Spanish screenwriter and film producer. He is the father of Gracia Querejeta. Biograph ...

decided not to allow the filming of the latter 90 minutes which would have been filmed in the south. Querejeta attributed this to lack of funds, although neither Erice nor the film's cinematographer, José Luis Alcaine, believed that was the reason. Erice felt the film was incomplete and described it as an "unfinished drama" even though it was well received by critics.

Plot

This film tells the story of a young girl named Estrella (''Sonsoles Aranguren''), living in the north of Spain with her father, Augustin (''Omero Antonutti''), and her mother, Julia (''Lola Cardona''). Her father is a scientist who seemingly has the ability to divine water using a pendulum, but Estrella finds him mysterious. As she's growing up her father shares with her the art of divination, but does not talk about his own childhood. Her grandmother comes to visit, and she learns that during the Spanish Civil War her father and grandfather had a falling out. Her grandfather supported Franco, but her father was a Republican. After the civil war her father vowed he would never return to the south again. Later she sees her father visit a movie theater, then eventually discovers that the films he patronizes all star an actress by the name of Irene Rios (''Aurore Clément''). She later finds out that Rios was her father's sweetheart in the south, and that he is still in love with her.

Cast

Omero Antonutti Omero Antonutti (3 August 1935 – 5 November 2019) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Basiliano, in the province of Udine (in the Northeastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia), after having worked in shipyard ...

- Agustín Arenas * Sonsoles Aranguren - Estrella, 8 years **

- Estrella, 15 years *

Aurore Clément Aurore Clément (born 12 October 1945) is a French actress who has appeared in French and English language movies and television productions. Early life She was born Marie-Thérèse Aurore Louise Clément in Soissons. Following the death of her ...

- Irene Ríos / Laura *

Lola Cardona Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lola ...

- Julia, Agustín's wife *

Rafaela Aparicio Rafaela Díaz Valiente MML (9 April 1906 – 9 June 1996) better known as Rafaela Aparicio was a famous Spanish film and theatre actress. She made more than 100 films. The most remembered are Carlos Saura's ''Anna and the Wolves'', ''Mama Tu ...

- Milagros * Francisco Merino - Irene Ríos's Co-Star * Maria Caro - Casilda *

José Vivó José Vivó (19 May 1917 – 26 July 1989) was a Spanish television, theater and film actor. Life He studied engineering, but the Spanish Civil War forced him to leave his studies unfinished. He fought on the side of the Republican army and ...

- Grand Hotel barman *

Germaine Montero Germaine Montero (1909–2000) was a French singer and a stage, television and film actress.Conway p.87 Partial filmography * '' Sapho'' (1934) - Madame Sombreuse * ''The Sin of Rogelia Sanchez'' (1940) - Rogelia Sanchez * '' Saint Rogelia'' (19 ...

- Doña Rosario *

José Luis Fernández, El Pirri José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

- El Carioco

Reception

The film was entered into the

1983 Cannes Film Festival The 36th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 19 May 1983. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Narayama Bushiko'' by Shōhei Imamura. In 1983, the new building for the main events of the festival, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, was inaug ...

. It won the Gold Hugo at the 1983

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

. ''El Sur'' was voted the eight-best Spanish film by professionals and critics in a 1996 Spanish cinema centenary.

References

External links

* 1983 films 1980s Spanish-language films 1983 drama films Spain in fiction Films based on Spanish novels Films directed by Víctor Erice Spanish drama films 1980s Spanish films {{1980s-Spain-film-stub