''The Great Vazquez'' ( es, El gran Vázquez, links=no) is a 2010 Spanish biographical comedy-drama film directed and written by Óscar Aibar which stars

Santiago Segura Santiago Segura Silva (born 17 July 1965) is a Spanish filmmaker and actor. He also worked to a lesser extent as a television presenter, voice actor and comic book writer, as well as being a collector of original comic books. At 12, he began ...

as the title character alongside

Álex Angulo Alejandro Angulo León (12 April 1953, in Erandio, Biscay – 20 July 2014, in Fuenmayor, La Rioja), better known as Álex Angulo was a Spanish actor who performed in over sixty films during his career spanning more than 30 years. Angulo di ...

, Mercè Llorens and

Enrique Villén Enrique Villén Cruz (born 1 May 1960) is a Spanish actor, best known for his supporting performances in films directed by Álex de la Iglesia. He was nominated for the 2005 Goya Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in '' Ninette'' ...

Plot

Set in 1960s

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, the plot follows the vicissitudes of Vázquez, a

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

and wastrel whose rogue way of living is threatened by the arrival of a foe, Peláez, an accountant hellbent on setting things right in the publishing house.

Cast

Production

The film is a Distinto Films, Tornasol Films and Castafiore Films production, with the participation of TVE, TVC and Canal+ España. Shooting locations included

and the

Ciudad de la Luz Ciudad de la Luz ("City of Light") is a film studio in Alicante, Spain. About 60 films were shot on the studio's premises between opening in 2005 and closing in 2012. In May 2012, the European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the e ...

studio in

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

Release

''The Great Vazquez'' was presented at the 58th

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; es, Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, eu, Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in th ...

in September 2010, screened as part of the festival's main competition. It was theatrically released in Spain on 24 September 2010.

Reception

In the view of Mark Adams, of ''

ScreenDaily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'', the film constitutes "a delightful mixture of genial period comedy mixed with comic strip characters bouncing out of the screen". Carlos Marañón of ''

Cinemanía ''Cinemanía'' is a Spanish language monthly film magazine based in Madrid, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)( ...

'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, presenting it as a " Lopezvazquez-esque version of ''

Catch Me If You Can ''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American biographical crime comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams and James ...

'' full of city guards", considering that the imbrication of the setting with the lead character's spirit is so-so, while the supporting cast performs well. Sergi Sánchez of ''

Fotogramas ''Fotogramas'' is Spanish digital and print film magazine which has been in circulation since 1946. It is one of the early film magazines in Spain. History Founded in Barcelona, it was first published on 15 November 1946 by Antonio Nadal-Rodó a ...

'' score 3 out of 5 stars, considering that the "faithful portrayal" of the working environment in Franco era and Santiago Segura's "spectacular performance", balancing "tenderness and cynicism", make the film a "pleasant surprise", while considering the animated segments to be "expendable".

Accolades

, - , align = "center" rowspan = "5" , 2011 , , rowspan = "4" , 3rd

Gaudí Awards The Gaudí Awards ( ca, Premis Gaudí) are the main film awards of Catalonia, celebrated annually in Barcelona. The awards were established in 2009 by the Catalan Film Academy as a continuation and expansion of the Barcelona Cinema Awards (''Premi ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Non-Catalan Language Film , , , , rowspan = "4" , , - , Best Costume Design , , Maria Gil, Sonia Segura , , , - , Best Special/Digital Effects , , Josep Maria Aragonés , , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , , Blanca Sánchez, Pepe Quetglas , , , - ,

25th Goya Awards The 25th Goya Awards were given on 13 February 2011 to honour the best in Spanish films of 2010. ''Black Bread'' (''Pa negre'') by Agustí Villaronga won nine awards, including Best Film and Best Director. Nominees Major awards Other award ...

, , Best Supporting Actor , , Álex Angulo , , , , align = "center" ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Vazquez, The 2010s Spanish-language films Spanish comedy-drama films 2010 comedy-drama films Films shot at Ciudad de la Luz Films shot in Barcelona Live-action films based on comics Films based on Spanish comics Cultural depictions of cartoonists Spanish biographical films Films set in the 1960s Films set in Barcelona Films about comics Biographical films about artists 2010s Spanish films