''Lázaro de Tormes'' is a 2001 Spanish comedy film directed by

Fernando Fernán Gómez Fernando Fernández Gómez (28 August 1921 – 21 November 2007) better known as Fernando Fernán Gómez was a Spanish actor, screenwriter, film director, theater director and member of the Royal Spanish Academy for seven years. He was born i ...

and

José Luis García Sánchez José Luis García Sánchez (born 22 September 1941) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer. He has directed 30 films since 1968. He wrote for the 1973 film ''Habla, mudita'', which was entered into the 23rd Berlin Internationa ...

which stars Rafael Álvarez "El Brujo" as the title character.

Plot

Set in the 16th century, the plot concerns about a trial on an adult Lázaro in Toledo. As part of his defence, the character goes on to tell the jury the story of his life (displayed through flashbacks). Rather than Lázaro's ability to persuade the folks, he is "saved" by the ''

deus ex machina ''Deus ex machina'' ( , ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; English "god out of the machine") is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function ...

'' arrival of

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...

to the city.

Cast

Production

Written by Fernando Fernán Gómez, the screenplay is an adaptation of a stage monologue (based in turn on the early modern work). It was initially helmed by

, but

took over direction duties and completed the film in the wake of Fernán Gómez's illness during production. Shooting locations included

Lupiana Lupiana is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * ...

and

Atienza Atienza () is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 437 inhabitants. The Castle of Atienza is situated here. There were ancient Celtiberian set ...

(

province of Guadalajara Guadalajara () is a province of Spain, belonging to the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. As of 2013 it had a population of 257,723 people. The population of the province has grown in the last 10 years. It is located in the centre of ...

);

Talamanca de Jarama Talamanca de Jarama is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain. Sights include the Romanesque church of San Juan Bautista, the a 17th-century Carthusian monastery and the ''Ábside de los Milagros'' (also known as ''El Morabito''), wh ...

(

Madrid region The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munici ...

) and Toledo.

Release

The film was theatrically released on 19 January 2001.

Accolades

, - , rowspan = "5" align = "center" , 2001 , , rowspan = "5" ,

15th Goya Awards The 15th Goya Awards were presented in Madrid, Spain 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 t ...

, , Best Adapted Screenplay , , Fernando Fernán Gómez , , , , rowspan = "5" , , - , Best Production Supervision , , Carmen Martínez Muñoz , , , - , Best Art Direction , , Luis Ramírez , , , - , Best Costume Design , ,

Javier Artiñano Javier Artiñano (1942 – 4 July 2013) was a Spanish costume design Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, ...

, , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , , Juan Pedro Hernández, Esther Martín , ,

References