''The Sow'' ( es, La marrana, links=no) is a 1992 Spanish rural comedy and adventure film directed and written by José Luis Cuerda which stars Alfredo Landa and Antonio Resines.

Plot

Starting in the Summer of

1492 Year 1492 ( MCDXCII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. 1492 is considered to be a significant year in the history of the West, Europe, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Spain, and the Ne ...

, the plot shows the mishaps of the common folk (two vagrants, Bartolomé and Ruy, respectively a man freed from captivity in Tunis and a desertor from the Granada War accompanied by a sow) living badly in the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...

, seeking to embark on a caravel in the harbor of Palos.

Cast

Production

The film is a Central de Producciones Audiovisuales and Antea Films production, and it also had support from the Ministry of Culture and

Generalitat Valenciana The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self-government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organized. It consists of seven institutions including the ''Corts Valen ...

. Shooting locations included Trujillo,

Boadilla del Monte Boadilla del Monte () is a Spanish town and municipality located in the west of the Community of Madrid, inside its metropolitan area. It has the second highest level of income per capita in all of the country of Spain. In 2017, it had a popula ...

, La Alberca, and the

Veruela Abbey Veruela Abbey ( es, Real Monasterio de Santa María de Veruela, or "The Royal Monastery of Santa María de Veruela") is a Cistercian abbey dating from the 12th century. It is situated near Vera de Moncayo, in Zaragoza province, Spain. It was f ...

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci) in October 1992. It was theatrically released in Spain on 6 November 1992.

Reception

Ángel Fernández-Santos 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 ...

'' deemed ''The Sow'' to be a "well made, amusing and a tad coarse" film, with a tendency to

scatological humour Toilet humour, or potty or scatological humour (compare scatology), is a type of off-colour humour dealing with defecation, diarrhea, constipation, urination and flatulence, and to a lesser extent vomiting and other bodily functions. It sees subs ...

and the picaresque novel dialogues.

Accolades

, - , rowspan = "2" align = "center" , 1993 , , rowspan = "2" ,

7th Goya Awards The 7th Goya Awards were presented in Madrid, Spain on 13 March 1993. The gala was hosted by Imanol Arias. ''Belle Époque'' won the award for Best Film. Winners and nominees Major award nominees Other award nominees Honorary Goya * Imano ...

, ,

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

, , Alfredo Landa , , , , rowspan = "2" , , - ,

Best Cinematography 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 ...

, , Hans Burmann , ,

References

{{authority control Films set in the 1490s Spanish historical comedy films 1990s Spanish films 1990s Spanish-language films Films directed by José Luis Cuerda Films shot in the province of Zaragoza Films shot in the Community of Madrid Films shot in the province of Cáceres Films shot in the province of Salamanca Films about poverty