Solas (film)

Last updated
Solas
Solas.jpg
Spanish film poster
Directed by Benito Zambrano
Written byBenito Zambrano
Starring
Distributed by Fireworks Pictures
Release dates
  • February 1999 (1999-02)(Berlinale)
  • 5 March 1999 (1999-03-05)(Spain)
Running time
101 minutes
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish

Solas is a 1999 Spanish film written and directed by Benito Zambrano.

Contents

The film explores the lives of a mother and daughter and their struggle for survival and happiness. Both of the women in the story are portrayed as alone (sola, plural solas), each in her own way.

It won five Goya awards in 2000 and several other prizes.

Plot

Solas (Alone) tells the story of María (Ana Fernández) and her mother Rosa (María Galiana). María is one of four adult children, all of whom moved as far as they could get from their parents and the farm where they grew up. Before the movie starts, the father (later revealed to be a violent, cruel, abusive man) has fallen ill and been brought to a hospital in Seville, where María lives. Rosa has been staying at the hospital with him, but the doctor tells her to leave before she falls ill herself. María takes Rosa to stay with her in the rundown suburban apartment where she lives, and Rosa rides the bus every day to visit her husband.

María is intelligent and wanted an education, but her father wouldn't allow it. Now, at 35, she works for a cleaning service; she is lonely, poor, angry and bitter. She discovers she is pregnant by a man who doesn't want a baby and tells María to get an abortion. When she tells him she wants to have the baby and raise it with him, the man rejects her. In her anger and despair, María starts drinking heavily.

As her mother Rosa returns from shopping one day, she meets María's neighbor (vecino) Don Emilio (Carlos Álvarez-Nóvoa), a kind old widower living alone with his dog. A friendship blossoms between them: he lends Rosa some money when she runs short at the supermarket, and she cooks for him after he burns a stew he forgot was cooking. He falls in love with Rosa, but Rosa is faithful to her abusive husband. (At one point she says to María about her father, "He must not have an easy conscience. I do.")

Rosa's husband recovers and she returns with him to the country, not knowing about María's pregnancy. María tells Don Emilio about the baby and tells him she plans to abort it. In a long, emotional scene, he offers to be like a grandfather to the child if she decides to keep it, but María has been so badly treated by the men in her life that she has trouble believing him.

The movie ends with María visiting her parents' grave with her baby girl and Don Emilio. He is going to sell his apartment in Seville and the three of them will move into Rosa's house in the country to raise the baby.

Cast

Release

The film screened at the Panorama section of the 49th Berlin International Film Festival in February 1999. [2] It was ensuingly pre-screened at the Lebrija's Juan Bernabé Theatre on 28 February 1999. [3] It received a wide release in Spain on 5 March 1999. [3]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
2000 14th Goya Awards Best Film SolasNominated [4] [5]
Best Director Benito ZambranoNominated
Best New Director Benito ZambranoWon
Best Original Screenplay Benito ZambranoWon
Best Original Score Antonio MeliveoNominated
Best Supporting Actress María GalianaWon
Best New Actor Carlos Álvarez-NóvoaWon
Best New Actress Ana FernándezWon
Best Production SupervisionEduardo SantanaNominated
Best Editing Fernando PardoNominated
Best SoundJorge Marín, Carlos Faruolo, Patrick GhislainNominated
200143rd Ariel Awards Best Ibero-American Film SolasWon [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>All About My Mother</i> 1999 film by Pedro Almodóvar

All About My Mother is a 1999 comedy-drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, and starring Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña, Antonia San Juan, Penélope Cruz and Rosa Maria Sardà.

<i>The Sea Inside</i> 2004 Spanish drama film

The Sea Inside is a 2004 Spanish drama film written, produced, directed, scored and edited by Alejandro Amenábar, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It is based on the real-life story of Ramón Sampedro, who was left quadriplegic after a diving accident, and his 28-year campaign in support of euthanasia and the right to end his life.

<i>Take My Eyes</i> 2003 Spanish film

Take My Eyes is a 2003 Spanish romantic drama film directed by Icíar Bollaín, starring Laia Marull and Luis Tosar. Critically acclaimed for its unclichéd treatment of domestic violence, it won seven Goya Awards in 2004, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, and Best Supporting Actress. Shooting locations included Toledo.

Candela Peña Spanish actress

María del Pilar Peña Sánchez, professionally known as Candela Peña, is a Spanish actress. Since her film debut in the 1994 thriller Running Out of Time, she has had a lengthy career in cinema. She won the Goya Award for Best Actress for her performance in Princesses (2005) whereas she won the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actress for Take My Eyes (2003) and A Gun in Each Hand (2012).

Belén Rueda Spanish actress

María Belén Rueda García-Porrero is a Spanish actress. She became popular in Spain for her performances in the Globomedia-produced television series Periodistas (1998–2002) and, most notably, Los Serrano (2003–2007). Likewise, she has carved an international reputation among horror fans for her performances in horror and suspense works.

Paco León

Francisco León Barrios, known as Paco León is a Spanish actor, producer, director, screenwriter and activist.

Verónica Forqué Spanish actress

Verónica Forqué Vázquez-Vigo was a Spanish stage, film and television actress. She was a four-time Goya Award winner, the most award-winning actress alongside Carmen Maura. She had a knack for characters "between ridiculous and tender, stunned and vehement".

Verónica Sánchez Spanish actress

Verónica Sánchez Calderón is a Spanish actress. She made her debut in theatre in 1996, and came to media attention as Eva Capdevila in the Telecinco series Los Serrano in 2003. Sánchez has since developed a successful film career.

One Word from You is a Spanish 2008 film directed by Ángeles González Sinde based on the novel of the same name by Elvira Lindo. It stars Malena Alterio, Esperanza Pedreño and Antonio de la Torre, alongside María Alfonsa Rosso, Luis Bermejo and Chiqui Fernández.

<i>Camino</i> (2008 film) 2008 Spanish film

Camino is a 2008 Spanish drama film directed by Javier Fesser starring Nerea Camacho as the title character alongside Carmen Elías, Mariano Venancio and Manuela Vellés.

<i>La fuerza del destino</i> (TV series)

La fuerza del destino is an original Mexican telenovela produced by Rosy Ocampo for Televisa, and aired on Canal de las Estrellas from March 14, 2011 to July 31, 2011. In the United States the telenovela aired on Univision from August 2, 2011 to December 26, 2011.

María Galiana Spanish actress

María Galiana Medina is a Spanish actress. She won the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the mother in Solas.

Fernando Velázquez (composer) Spanish film score composer

Fernando Velázquez is a spanish concert, film and TV composer. Among his best known works are the film soundtracks for Juan Antonio Bayona’s films: The Orphanage, The Impossible and A Monster Calls, for which he won the Goya Film Award for Best Original Composition in 2017.

<i>Spanish Affair</i> (2014 film) 2014 film directed by Emilio Martínez-Lázaro

Spanish Affair is a 2014 Spanish comedy film directed by Emilio Martínez-Lázaro. It premiered in Spain on 14 March 2014. Six weeks after its release, it became the second biggest box office hit ever in Spain, behind Avatar.

30th Goya Awards Award ceremony for Spanish films of 2015

The 30th Goya Awards were presented at the Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel in Madrid on February 6, 2016 to honour the best in Spanish films of 2015. Actor and comedian Dani Rovira was the master of ceremonies for the second time in a row.

<i>Smoke & Mirrors</i> (2016 film) 2016 Spanish film

Smoke & Mirrors is a 2016 Spanish thriller film directed by Alberto Rodríguez based on the 2006 non-fiction book Paesa, el espía de las mil caras by Manuel Cerdán. The film stars Eduard Fernández as Francisco Paesa, a former agent of the Spanish secret service who faked his own death after an infamous corruption scandal. The film premiered at the 64th San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Silver Shell for Best Actor for Eduard Fernández. It was also screened at the 2016 London Film Festival.

Eva Llorach Spanish actress

Eva Llorach is a Spanish actress. Her breakout performance was her role in the 2018 drama film Quién te cantará, which earned her the Goya Award for Best New Actress in 2019.

<i>Maixabel</i> 2021 Spanish film

Maixabel is a 2021 Spanish drama film directed by Icíar Bollaín and co-written by Bollaín and Isa Campo. The film stars Blanca Portillo and Luis Tosar alongside Bruno Sevilla, Urko Olazabal and María Cerezuela and is based on the true story of Maixabel Lasa, a woman whose husband, Juan María Jáuregui, was killed by ETA, a separatist group, and who receives an invitation to talk with the killers of her husband eleven years after.

Banderas, the Tyrant is a 1993 internationally co-produced film directed by José Luis García Sánchez. It is an adaptation of the 1926 novel Tirano Banderas by Ramón María del Valle-Inclán. It was produced by companies from Spain, Cuba and Mexico. It stars Gian Maria Volonté as the title character, also featuring Ana Belén, Juan Diego, Fernando Guillén, Ignacio López Tarso and Javier Gurruchaga.

María Isasi Spanish actress

María Carlota Isasi-Isasmendi Paredes is a Spanish actress.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Holden, Stephen (8 September 2000). "Film Review; A Mother's Selfless Love and Dignity". The New York Times .
  2. ""La delgada línea roja" gana el Oso de oro en el Festival de Berlín". El Mundo . 21 February 1999.
  3. 1 2 Correal, Francisco (28 February 2019). "No fue un 28-f más". Diario de Sevilla .
  4. "Estas son las nominaciones de los Premios Goya 2000". Premios Goya . Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  5. "Estos son los premios de los Premios Goya 2000". Premios Goya . Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  6. "La Academia de Cine da a conocer las películas candidatas a los Oscar y a los premios Ariel". Cadena SER . 14 September 2009.