Jaime Chávarri returns with La manzana de oro
- Marta Nieto and Sergi López star in the adaptation of Fernando Aramburu's novel, with which the veteran filmmaker returns to directing after 17 years away from being behind the camera
The arrival of an unexpected guest destabilises the annual Poetry Conference, which brings together different trends in Spanish poetry in an isolated convent in the northwest of the peninsula. Over a fast-paced weekend, as the poets write, recite and observe each other, chasing a golden prize, a suspicion of plagiarism, the fight for a place in a future anthology, the irreverence of a rapper, the birthday of a hundred-year-old poet, poisonous mushrooms, unexpected sexual encounters and the awakening of late loves, culminating in a stormy night after the unsuspected triumph of a new female contemporary poetry star.
This is the synopsis of La manzana de oro [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a comedy of entanglements whose filming finished on 8 June in Galicia and which marks the return to directing for one of Spain's most prestigious filmmakers: Jaime Chávarri, 79 years old, who has not directed a feature film since 2005, when he released Camarón, although he has been active both in the classroom and the theatre. But it is impossible not to recall titles from his filmography that are already Spanish cinema classics, such as the documentary El desencanto, the homosexual drama A un dios desconocido, the period films Las bicicletas son para el verano and Bearn o la sala de las muñecas, and the musicals Las cosas del querer and its sequel. He has also been in front of the camera, in brief roles, in works by Iván Zulueta, What Have I Done to Deserve This? and Matador, by Pedro Almodóvar, Presentimientos and The Apostate [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], among other performances.
Marta Nieto (Out of Sync [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Juanjo Giménez
film profile], Madre [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
film profile]) and Sergi López (an actor we saw in Mediterráneo: The Law of the Sea [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and starring in September in Pacifiction [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile], by Albert Serra) lead the cast of La manzana de oro, supported by Adrián Lastra, Vicky Peña, Joaquín Climent, Paca Gabaldón, Roberto Enríquez, Celso Bugallo and Ginés García Millán, among others (the director himself reserves a small but hard-hitting role for himself).
A screen adaptation of the novel Ávidas pretensiones, by Fernando Aramburu (Patria, Bajo las estrellas), winner of the 2014 Biblioteca Breve Prize, by José Ángel Esteban (Horas de luz, Besos para todos) and Chávarri himself. The technical team includes Kiko de la Rica (Blancanieves [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pablo Berger
film profile]) in charge of photography and Teresa Font (Parallel Mothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile]), in charge of editing.
La manzana de oro is a production by Mario Real for La Piruleta Films, with Galician co-production by Xosé Zapata for Viva Zapata & Villar. It is financed by the ICAA - Spanish Government, TVE and supported by the Ourense Provincial Council. Filmshark manages the international sales.
(Translated from Spanish)
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