''Isla de sal'' ( en, Salt Island) is a 1964

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n drama comedy film directed by

Clemente de la Cerda Clemente Felipe de La Cerda Martin (13 October 1935 – 13 December 1984) was a film director from Venezuela. He directed one of the highest grossing Venezuelan films, '' Soy un delincuente (I am a criminal)'', in 1976. His movies were notable ...

. It was his first feature film,Tirado, Ricardo. ''Memoria y notas del cine venezolano, 1960-1976'', Fundación Neuman, 1988. but was considered one of his more important works. Later he won national acclaim with his blockbuster

Soy un delincuente ''Soy un delincuente'' (English: ''I Am a Criminal'') is a 1976 Venezuelan film by director Clemente de la Cerda, based on the autobiography of Ramón Antonio Brizuela. The film was a blockbuster hit in Venezuela, surpassing even big American pro ...

(1976).

Plot

When Aurora discovers that his father has a big debt for the purchase of a new boat for his work as a fisherman, she decides emigrate to Caracas with her godfather Simon, for achieve fame and fortune as singer after that Walter Perez, a very famous TV producer, discovers her in her town, Chichiriviche, despite the opposition of Lydia (Walter's lover) and Venancio (Aurora's boyfriend).

Cast

Lila Morillo Lila Morillo (born Lila Rosa Bozo Morillo on August 14, 1940 in Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan actress and singer. She is popularly known as ''La Diva de Venezuela'', ''La Reina del Cocotero'' and also as ''La Maracucha de Oro''. ...

... Aurora *

Simón Díaz Simón Narciso Díaz Márquez (August 8, 1928 – February 19, 2014) was a Venezuelan singer and Grammy Award-winning composer of Venezuelan music. Career Díaz endeavored to recover the folklore and musical traditions of the '' llanos'', the Ve ...

... Simon *

Doris Wells Doris Wells (born Doris María Buonafina; 28 October 1943 – 20 September 1988) was a Venezuelan actress, writer and producer. Her best-known television appearances were in ''Campeones'', ''La trepadora'', ''La Hora'', ''Historia de tres herman ...

... Lydia *Orangel Delfín ... Venancio *Efraín de la Cerda ... Walter Perez * Hugo Blanco ... Himself *Héctor Bayardo *Jose Vasquez *Gisela López *Carlos Flores *Alba Pinto *Miguel Angel Fuster *Nelida Leo

Production

The film introduced Cerda's focus on poverty and marginalization, which he continued in his later works. Due to the political content, he was unable to obtain state funding until the mid-1970s. The director said of the film: "I knew from the start that it was a good movie, but in Venezuela there are no schools, no tradition or film industry, which is why I believe we should start with movies aimed at the general public."

Reception

The movie helped launch the career of the singer

. Talking of this film and '' El rostro oculto (The Hidden Face)'' released soon after, a critic said "...these first two films reveal an interesting melange of styles and early technical ability, a search for language which came to an abrupt end in 1976 as the public demanded more and more 'delincuents'". Another commentator said the film was still weighed down with traditional banality, but introduced situations that the viewer could identify with and that might create social concern. By 2010, when the film was shown at the Festival del Cine Venezolano Mérida 2010 it was described a "A Venezuelan film classic".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0186245, Isla de sal Venezuelan comedy-drama films 1964 films 1964 comedy-drama films Venezuelan black-and-white films Films directed by Clemente de la Cerda 1964 directorial debut films 1960s Spanish-language films