''The Grandfather'' ( es, El abuelo) is a 1998 Spanish
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- ...
written, produced and directed by
José Luis Garci. It stars
Fernando Fernán-Gómez
Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...
,
Cayetana Guillén Cuervo
Cayetana Guillén Cuervo (born 13 June 1969) is a Spanish actress, journalist and TV presenter.
Early life and background
Born on 13 June 1969 in Madrid, both of her parents, Fernando Guillén and Gemma Cuervo as well as her brother, Fernan ...
and Rafael Alonso. The film, an adaptation of the novel of the same title by
Benito Pérez Galdós
Benito Pérez Galdós (May 10, 1843 – January 4, 1920) was a Spanish realist novelist. He was the leading literary figure in 19th-century Spain, and some scholars consider him second only to Miguel de Cervantes in stature as a Spanish n ...
, tells the story of an aristocrat's search to discover which of his two putative granddaughters resulted from an extramarital affair by his daughter-in-law.
Plot
Don Rodrigo, Count of Albrit, an old Spanish aristocrat, returns to turn-of-the-20th-century Spain after losing his fortune in America. The death of his only son has made him come back to his family estate, now in possession of his daughter-in-law Lucrecia. Upon his return, Don Rodrigo is pleased to meet his granddaughters, Dolly and Nelly, both of whom are adorable and attentive towards him. However, there is something nagging Don Rodrigo.
His son died heartbroken after he discovered his wife was having an affair with a Parisian painter and he left a letter stating that one of the girls is an illegitimate child, not of his blood, and therefore not entitled to be his true heir or true successor to his name and country estate. To the Count of Albrit, it is a matter of honor to know which of the girls is his real granddaughter. To uncover the truth, he confronts his son's widow, Lucrecia.
Lucrecia, now 32, is an English-born beauty with a scandalous reputation, who married the Count’s son when she was 18 and was unfaithful to her husband during their marriage, having an affair with a Parisian painter. Confronting her, the Count of Albrit, who opposed the match, tells her she killed his son, who died of sadness, loneliness, and shame brought on by her infidelity. Lucrecia replies that life is complicated, as are the emotions between men and women. In any case, she vehemently refuses to discuss the matter of her daughter’s paternity.
Lucrecia is well connected. Her latest liaison with Jaime, a government minister, has benefited the village in which her lands lie. When she sees her family relationships and a future move from the provinces to Madrid threatened, she tries to use her standing with the town’s authorities and the local clergy to thwart the old man in his quest. Their plan is to have the Count of Albrit confined in a nearby monastery, but the still-formidable Don Rodrigo quickly realizes their intentions and manages to escape their trap. He reminds some of the smarmy villagers of their checkered past in the days when the Count of Albrit was a power to be reckoned with.
During his quest to find the true origin of his granddaughters, the Count of Albrit befriends the girl’s teacher, poor old Pío Coronado. Too kind for his own good and saddled with six unseen but abusive and sluttish daughters, Coronado would like to kill himself, but he lacks the courage. The straightforward Count tells the tutor that he will be only too happy to toss him off a cliff into the sea, whenever Coronado is ready.
In the meantime, Senén, a mercenary servant, offers an incriminating love letter for sale. The letter implies that Dolly, the eldest of the two girls, who all along has defended forcefully the well being of her grandfather, is the legitimate child. With this piece of information, Don Rodrigo confronts his daughter in law once again. He asks her to allow him to live with Dolly in the family rural estate, but Lucrecia refuses to be parted from any of her daughters without admitting the truth about Dolly’s paternity. Soon after, Lucrecia’s confessor reveals to Don Rodrigo that he has been in the wrong. Nelly is his biological granddaughter. Finally reconciling with the Count of Albrit, Lucrecia leaves for Madrid with Nelly. Dolly stays behind with don Rodrigo, who has his wishes fulfilled. Pio Coronado buries his suicidal intentions.
Cast
*
Fernando Fernán-Gómez
Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...
as Don Rodrigo, Count of Albrit
*
Rafael Alonso as Pio Coronado
*
Cayetana Guillén Cuervo
Cayetana Guillén Cuervo (born 13 June 1969) is a Spanish actress, journalist and TV presenter.
Early life and background
Born on 13 June 1969 in Madrid, both of her parents, Fernando Guillén and Gemma Cuervo as well as her brother, Fernan ...
as Lucrecia
*
Agustín González as Senén
*
Cristina Cruz Mínguez as Dolly
*
Alicia Rosas as Nelly
*
Fernando Guillén as the Major
*
Francisco Algora
Francisco Javier Jiménez Algora (7 December 1948 – 30 March 2016) was a Spanish actor. He has appeared in more than 100 films and television shows between 1972 and 2012. He starred in the 1973 film ''Habla, mudita'', which was entered in ...
as the priest
*
Antonio Valero as Jaime
Awards
The film was an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominee for Best Foreign Language Film.
Fernando Fernán-Gómez won the
Goya Award
The Goya Awards ( es, Premios Goya) are Spain's main national annual film awards, commonly referred to as the Academy Awards of Spain.
The awards were established in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sci ...
for Best Actor. There was a controversy that year between Garci and Goyas, in which the latter accused Garci of buying votes for the film. As a result, Garci quit the Spanish Academy. The accusations were denied later by the own Academy.
José Luis Garci no asistirá hoy a los Goya y anuncia su baja en la Academia de Cine
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Alternate versions
The film was initially filmed as a television miniseries for Televisión Española
Televisión Española (acronym TVE, branded tve, "Spanish Television") is Spain's national state-owned public television broadcaster and the oldest regular television service in the country. It was also the first regular television service in ...
and was edited with a shorter cut for its release in cinemas as a film. The miniseries was broadcast on La Primera Cadena of Televisión Española in 2001.
In 1972, Rafael Gil
Rafael Gil (22 May 1913 – 10 July 1986) was a Spanish film director and screenwriter.
His film ''La guerra de Dios'' (1953) won the Bronze Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1953 and also won best film and best director at the San Sebastián ...
made a previous version titled ''La duda
''La duda (The Doubt)'' is a telenovela broadcast in Mexico by the TV Azteca network.
Cast
* Silvia Navarro ... Victoria
* Víctor González Reynoso ... Julian
* Sergio Bustamante ... Adolfo
* Julieta Egurrola ... Teresa
* Omar Germenos .. ...
''.
DVD release
The film was released on DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on August 8, 2000 by Miramax Home Entertainment
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a lead ...
.
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grandfather, The
1998 films
Spanish drama films
1990s Spanish-language films
1998 drama films
Films based on works by Benito Pérez Galdós
Films shot in Madrid
Films featuring a Best Actor Goya Award-winning performance
Films shot in Mexico
Remakes of Spanish films
Films set in Asturias
Films with screenplays by José Luis Garci
RTVE shows
Films directed by José Luis Garci
1990s Spanish films