''Dearest Maria'' () is a 2004 Spanish drama film directed by

José Luis García Sánchez José Luis García Sánchez (born 22 September 1941) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer. He has directed 30 films since 1968. He wrote for the 1973 film '' Habla, mudita'', which was entered into the 23rd Berlin Internation ...

from a screenplay by

Rafael Azcona Rafael Azcona Fernández (24 October 1926 – 24 March 2008) was a Spanish screenwriter and novelist who worked with some of the best Spanish and international filmmakers. Azcona won five Goya Awards during his career, including a lifetim ...

based on the figure of María Zambrano. It stars

María Botto María Florencia Botto Rota (born 10 February 1974) is an Argentine-Spanish actress. In 1978, she moved to Spain with her mother Cristina Rota and her brother Juan Diego Botto, also actors. She made her feature film debut at age 10, with a perf ...

and

Pilar Bardem María del Pilar Bardem Muñoz (14 March 1939 – 17 July 2021) was a Spanish film and television actress. In 1996, she won the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in '' Nobody Will Speak of Us When We're Dead''. She was the moth ...

Plot

The plot takes place between 1989 and 1991. Journalist Lola meets author María Zambrano in 1989, upon Zambrano's reception of the

Cervantes Prize The Miguel de Cervantes Prize () is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' calls it "most prestigious and remunerative award given for Spanish-languag ...

, leading Lola to make Zambrano's biopic.

Cast

Production

The film is a Maestranza Films and Redacción 7 Andalucía production.

Release

The film premiered in competition at the 49th

Valladolid International Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

(Seminci) on 24 October 2004. Distributed by Alta Films, it was released theatrically in Spain on 29 October 2004.

Reception

Jonathan Holland of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that García Sánchez "fails for the most part to galvanize the potential high drama". Casimiro Torreiro of ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

'' wrote that the film "will go down in the annals as a worthy effort to didactically marry cinema for the general public with the usual rigor of documentary editing".

Accolades

, - , , 49th

, , Best Actress , , rowspan = "3" , Pilar Bardem , , , , , - , rowspan = "2" , ,

19th Goya Awards The 19th Goya Awards took place in Madrid, Spain on 30 January 2005. ''The Sea Inside ''The Sea Inside'' () is a 2004 psychological drama film co-written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar, who also co-produced, scored and edited. It is based ...

, , Best Actress , , , , , - ,

14th Actors and Actresses Union Awards The 14th Actors and Actresses Union Awards ceremony was held on 20 June 2005 at Madrid's Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones. The gala was hosted by Concha Velasco Concepción Velasco Varona (29 November 1939 – 2 December 2023), known prof ...

, , Best Film Actress in a Leading Role , , , ,

References

{{reflist Spanish drama films Spanish-language drama films 2004 drama films 2000s Spanish-language films 2000s Spanish films Films with screenplays by Rafael Azcona Films directed by José Luis García Sánchez Maestranza Films films Films set in 1989 Films set in 1991