''El jardín de las delicias'', also known as ''The Garden of Delights'' in English language cinema, is a 1970 Spanish drama film co-written and directed by

Carlos Saura Carlos Saura Atarés (4 January 1932 – 10 February 2023) was a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. With Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be among Spain's great filmmakers. He had a long and prolific career th ...

. The film was censored by contemporary Spanish censorship because of its Franco bourgeois satire and

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

references.

Synopsis

Antonio Cano, age 45, is an important businessman who was severely injured in a car accident. Because of this, he is temporarily paralyzed and suffers memory loss. His family, friends and business associates all try to recreate scenes from his life in order to revive his memory which, little by little, does begin to return. Each day Antonio is placed in his beautiful garden where he relives many memories, both real and imagined. The name is a reference to the

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (; ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter from Duchy of Brabant, Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, gene ...

painting ''

The Garden of Earthly Delights ''The Garden of Earthly Delights'' () is the modern title given to a triptych oil painting on oak panels painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was between 40 and 60 years old. Bos ...

''.

Cultural significance

All of the striking scene changes and radical imagery are metaphors for the suppression and suffering of Spanish people in

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

, who could only speak out about their plight by means of allegorical films/stories such as ''El jardín de las delicias''.

Cast

* José Luis López Vázquez as Antonio * Luchy Soto as Luchy * Francisco Pierrá as Don Pedro * Esperanza Roy as Nicole * Antonio Acebal * Alberto Alonso as Tony * Eduardo Calvo * Antonio Canal as Friend 3 * Lina Canalejas as Tía * Roberto Cruz * Ignacio de Paúl * Luisa Fernanda Gaona * José Nieto as Friend 1 * Yamil Omar * Mayrata O'Wisiedo as Nurse * Julia Peña as Julia * Luis Peña as Friend * Marisa Porcel * Porfiria Sanchíz as (voice) (as Porfiría Sanchís) * Charo Soriano as Actress * Gloria Berrocal as (uncredited) *

Geraldine Chaplin Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944) is an American actress whose long career has included multilingual roles in English, Spanish, French, Italian and German films. Geraldine is a daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of his eigh ...

as (uncredited), she appears on church * Luis de Pablo as (uncredited)

Reception

John Simon described ''The Garden of Delights'' as a "near masterpiece".

References

External links

* * 1970 films Spanish drama films 1970s Spanish-language films 1970 drama films Films set in Spain Films directed by Carlos Saura Films produced by Elías Querejeta Films scored by Luis de Pablo Films with screenplays by Rafael Azcona 1970s Spanish films {{1970s-Spain-film-stub