100 Years of Spanish Cinema

100 Years of Spanish Cinema provides an in–depth look at the most important movements, films, and directors of twentieth–century Spain from the silent era to the present day. Approaching film as a cultural institution and a technological invention, it combines aesthetic analysis with contextual information on Spanish history, politics, and the cinematic industry. 100 Years of Spanish Cinema offers a step–by–step guide for students as they explore the visual elements, critical perspectives, and cultural contexts of twenty–two featured works, helping them to be more analytical, sophisticated, and engaged spectators, while also enabling them to interpret and examine the films in light of the socio–cultural conditions in which they were produced.

List of Figures vii About the Authors viii Acknowledgments x Preface xi 1 Silent Cinema and its Pioneers (1906–1930) 1 El ciego de aldea, Ángel García Cardona 8 Amor que mata, Fructuós Gelabert 10 Don Pedro el Cruel, Ricardo Baños, Albert Marro 12 La aldea maldita, Florián Rey 15 2 Surrealism (1924–1930) and the Advent of Sound (the Second Republic: 1931–1936) 21 Un chien andalou, Luis Buñuel 26 Tierra sin pan, Luis Buñuel 30 3 Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) 39 Suspiros de España, Benito Perojo 46 Canciones para después de una guerra, Basilio Martín Patino 52 4 The Autarky: Papier–Mâché Cinema (1939–1950) 61 Raza, José Luis Sáenz de Heredia 66 Locura de amor, Juan de Orduña 74 5 Neorealism: Status Quo and Dissent (1951–1961) 81 El cochecito, Marco Ferreri 89 Viridiana, Luis Buñuel 96 6 The “Liberal” Dictatorship and its Agony (1962–1975) 104 El verdugo, Luis García Berlanga 113 El jardín de las delicias, Carlos Saura 120 7 Cinema of the Transition: The Period of Disenchantment (1975–1979) 127 El desencanto, Jaime Chávarri 140 El crimen de Cuenca, Pilar Miró 145 8 Post–Franco Spain: The Pedro Almodóvar Phenomenon (1980–1991) 152 Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón, Pedro Almodóvar 161 ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto!, Pedro Almodóvar 169 9 Contemporary Trends (1992 to the Present) 180 Vacas, Julio Medem 194 Carícies, Ventura Pons 203 Flores de otro mundo, Icíar Bollaín 211 The Secret Life of Words (La vida secreta de las palabras), Isabel Coixet 218 Glossary of Film Terms 226 Historical Chronology 232 Notes 246 Bibliography 257 Index 263

Tatjana Pavlovic is Associate Professor of Spanish at Tulane University in New Orleans. Inmaculada Alvàrez is a Visiting Assistant Professor at University of California, Riverside. Rosana Blanco–Cano is Assistant Professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Anitra Grisales is a freelance editor and translator specializing in film and media studies. Alejandra Osorio is a professor in the Communications Department of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana–Cuajimalpa, Mexico. Alejandra Sánchez is a Ph.D. candidate at Tulane University in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

“An excellent resource for students of Spanish film and/or contemporary Spanish culture. Summing Up: Highly recommended.” ( Choice Reviews , May 2009)