''The Dancer and the Thief'' ( es, El baile de la victoria, links=no) is a 2009 film directed by Fernando Trueba. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by author Antonio Skármeta.

Plot

Following the 1988 national plebiscite and the arrival of democracy in Chile, the president declares a general amnesty for all prisoners who were convicted of non-violent crimes. Among these released prisoners are the young Ángel Santiago and the veteran Vergara Grey, a notorious thief. The two have different aspirations: while Vergara Grey only wishes to reunite with his family and start anew, Ángel dreams of seeking revenge against the prison warden and carrying out a major heist with Grey. However, Ángel's plans change when he meets the young Victoria, a ballet dancer who hasn't spoken since losing her parents as a child during the Chilean dictatorship. The lives of all three characters are irreversibly transformed as they face a new future.

Cast

* Ricardo Darín as Vergara Grey *

Abel Ayala Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd wh ...

as Ángel Santiago *

Miranda Bodenhöfer Miranda Bodenhöfer (born Santiago, Chile on 17 May 1990) is a Chilean ballet dancer and actress, known for her role in the Spanish film ''The Dancer and the Thief''. Biography Belonging to an artistic family, Miranda is the daughter of musicia ...

as Victoria Ponce * Ariadna Gil as Teresa Capriatti * Julio Jung as warden Santoro

Production

Adapting the Antonio Skármeta's novel ''El baile de la Victoria'', Fernando Trueba, Jonás Trueba and Skármeta himself collaborated in the writing of the screenplay. The film was produced by Fernando Trueba P.C. Shooting started in Chile in July 2008. Trueba said of the film: “I am proud of how I have portrayed antiago I believe it is very interesting visually. This is above all a romantic film, but with elements of comedy and film noir. It’s film-noir and it is western, it’s realist and very romantic. Definitively Latin American.”

Release

Distributed by Notro Films, the film was theatrically released in Spain on 27 November 2009. The film was selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards.

Accolades

, - , align = "center" rowspan = "9" , 2010 , , rowspan = "9" ,

24th Goya Awards The 24th Goya Awards were given in 2010 to honour the best in Spanish filmmaking of 2009. ''Cell 211'' won the award for Best Film. Winners and nominees Major awards Other award nominees Honorary Goya * Antonio Mercero Antonio Mercer ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Film , , , , rowspan = "9" , Premios Goya 2010
EDICIONES EL PAÍS, S.L. retrieved on April 18, 2015 , - , Best Director , , Fernando Trueba , , , - ,

Best Adapted Screenplay 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 ...

, , Antonio Skármeta, Fernando Trueba, Jonás Trueba , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , Ricardo Darín , , , - , Best Production Supervision , , Eduardo Castro , , , - ,

Best Editing 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# ...

, , Carmen Frías , , , - ,

Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

, , Carmen Frías , , , - , Best Costume Design , , Lala Huete , , , - ,

Best Sound This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow List of film awards, film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awa ...

, , Pierre Gamet, Nacho Royo-Villanova, Pelayo Gutiérrez , ,

Reviews

The film had mixed reviews:
Hollywood Reporter reviewScreendaily review

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dancer and the Thief Chilean drama films 2000s Spanish-language films 2009 films Films shot in Chile Films directed by Fernando Trueba Spanish drama films 2000s dance films Films set in Chile 2000s Spanish films Spanish-language drama films