''Lucía, Lucía'' () is a 2003 film directed by Antonio Serrano based on the 1997 novel ''La hija del caníbal'' by

Rosa Montero Rosa Montero Gayo (; born 3 January 1951) is a Spanish journalist and author of contemporary fiction. Early life and education The daughter of a bullfighter and a housewife, Montero was born in Cuatro Caminos, a district of Madrid. The contra ...

. The film stars

Cecilia Roth Cecilia Edith Rotenberg Gutkin (born 8 August 1956), known professionally as Cecilia Roth () is an Argentine actress. She is the winner of two Goya Awards and a European Film Award. She is known for being an " Almodóvar girl" and the "muse" ...

Carlos Álvarez-Nóvoa Carlos Álvarez-Nóvoa Sánchez (1940 in La Felguera – 23 September 2015) was a Spanish theatre director, writer, actor and lecturer. He won the 2000 Goya award for Best New Actor for his performance as Vecino in '' Solas''. He died on 23 Se ...

, and

Kuno Becker Eduardo Kuno Becker Paz (born January 14, 1978) professionally known as Kuno Becker, is a Mexican actor and film director who has worked in telenovelas, Mexican and American cinema. He is best known for his portrayal of Ruben Berrizabal in ''So ...

Plot

Lucía, a children's book writer, is travelling to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

with her husband on vacation, when her husband disappears after going to the airport bathroom. She later learns that he was kidnapped by a group called the People Workers Party that wants 20 million

pesos The peso is the monetary unit of several Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, as well as the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries of the Americas, the symbol commonly known a ...

from her. Her husband frantically tells her to find the money in his aunt's safe deposit box. With the help of her neighbours, a

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 ...

veteran, and a young musician, Lucía sets out to find his kidnappers. She eventually discovers the truth about his disappearance after learning from the police that her husband is accused of being part of an elaborate

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

scam from within the Treasury Department of the government and may have possibly faked his kidnapping.

Cast

Production

The film was shot over a period of eight weeks in and around

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, as well as at the

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

airport and the

Sierra Gorda The Sierra Gorda () is an Ecoregion, ecological region centered on the northern third of the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo and San Luis Po ...

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

the film was released under the name ''Lucía, Lucía'', since the producers thought the name ''La hija del caníbal'' (literally, "The cannibal's daughter") would lead audiences to believe the story was about a

cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecology, ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well ...

Reception

''Lucía, Lucía'' was not as successful as Serrano's first film ''

Sexo, Pudor y Lágrimas ''Sexo, pudor y lágrimas'' (''Sex, Shame, and Tears'') is a Mexican Romantic comedy, romantic Comedy film, comedy drama film, the second of the so-called New Era of the Cinema of Mexico (after ''Like Water for Chocolate (film), Like Water for C ...

''. Its box-office output in Mexico was MNX$10 million (under a million

dollars Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

). In Spain it was released on November 21, 2003 in 100 theaters.Lucía, Lucía o La Hija del Caníbal
/ref> In the

it had a box-office output of $269,586 in just 50 theatres. The film is the 204th highest grossing foreign film in the United States.

Accolades

The film was nominated for the following awards: *

Ariel Award in 2004 The XLVI Award of the Premio Ariel (2004) of the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas took place on March 30, 2004 at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. The Premio Ariel for the best movie was awarded to '' El misterio del Trinidad''. ...

from the

Mexican Academy of Film Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

for "Best Adapted Script" (Antonio Serrano) *

MTV Movie Awards The MTV Movie & TV Awards is a film and television awards show previously presented annually on MTV. It began as the MTV Movie Awards in 1992, when its 1992 MTV Movie Awards, first edition was held, and adopted its current name in 2017, beginnin ...

Mexico for: ** "Favourite Actor" (Kuno Becker) ** "Best Song" ( Kinky's ''Caníbal'').

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucia, Lucia 2003 films 2000s adventure comedy-drama films 2000s crime comedy-drama films 2003 romantic comedy-drama films 2003 thriller films 2000s road comedy-drama films 2003 independent films 2000s comedy thriller films Mexican crime comedy-drama films Mexican LGBTQ-related films Mexican thriller films Spanish LGBTQ-related films Spanish thriller films 2000s Spanish-language films Fiction with unreliable narrators Films about kidnapping Films about missing people Films about writers Films based on mystery novels Films based on Spanish novels Films set in Brazil Films set in Mexico Films shot in Mexico 20th Century Fox films Fox Searchlight Pictures films Mexican independent films Spanish road comedy-drama films Estudios Churubusco films Spanish independent films 2000s Mexican films 2000s Spanish films Spanish-language independent films 2003 LGBTQ-related films LGBTQ-related crime comedy-drama films