Though nowadays the mere mention of Spanish cinema conjures up images of the eccentric director Pedro Almodóvar, born in 1949, the true pioneer of the genre was Luis Buñuel (1900-1983), who was also the first to chart Spanish cinema on the international scene.
Buñuel, a friend of Salvador Dalí, was not surprisingly known for the surreal, disturbing imagery which predominated his movies. He never promoted or explained his work, and the only answers provided by his son were completely facetious. Though his work spans continents (after his exile from the Franquista Spain, he produced while living both in Mexico and in France, as well as in his native Spain) and decades (from 1929-1977), he remains most famous for his earliest short film, Un Chien Andalou. His work received numerous awards at the Berlin, Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, culminating in his 1972 Oscar for the best foreign language film for The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (filmed in France and in French, this work is not considered part of the Spanish cinema, which is why Pedro Almodovar is considered the first Spanish director to win an Oscar).
Completely self-taught and supporting his passion through a number of odd jobs, Almodóvar first ventured into experimental cinema and theater in the early 1970s - his friendship with the actress Carmen Maura who features in most of his movies dates to these days. His short movies from that period are extremely sexual in nature, featuring such titles as Two Whores, or, A Love Story that Ends in Marriage (1974), Sex Comes and Goes (1977), and finally, his first full-length film, Fuck Me, Fuck Me, Fuck Me, Tim made in 1978. He finally fully entered the scene in the 1980s, with Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap. Since 1982, Almodóvar has been putting out almost a film a year: his 1988 Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown was an international hit for the then already mature director. Though his convoluted narratives may vary, featuring subjects such as bullfighters in his 1986 Matador, or nuns in Dark Habits, filmed in 1983, all his story lines have a fair dash of melodrama and are based on pop culture, characterized by black, irreverent humor where nothing is sacred. Sex, desire, passion and identity are the dominant themes of his visually glossy and vibrant films. Pedro Almodóvar, being openly homosexual and integrating elements of the gay and underground culture into his films, is also a gay icon.
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| Who says ham is not an appropriate leitmotif in cinema? Just watch Jamon, Jamon! |
Oddly enough, now a very mainstream macho icon, the Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, got a start in Almodóvar's movies: he featured in a number of them in the 1980s and finally won acclaim in Almodóvar's 1989 hit, Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down, in which he titillated audiences worldwide as the lovable mental patient, Ricky. By contrast, Spain's most famous actress did not gain fame through collaboration with the nation's most famous director: Penelope Cruz made her debut through two less extravagant, gentler films, Jamón, Jamón, by Bigas Luna and then the Fernando Trueba Academy Award Winning hit Belle Epoque - both filmed in 1992.
An interesting recent phenomenon of the Spanish cinema is the appearance of English language Spanish films, featuring famous stars and big budgets, yet made by Spanish production companies. These include The Others (2001) with Nicole Kidman; the 2003 murder mystery The Reckoning, starring Willem Defoe; and the critically acclaimed 2004 hit, The Machinist. Despite all of this, even Guillermo de Torro's recent hit such as Pan's Labyrinth (2006) cannot seem to reverse the trend witnessed by so many western countries, worshiping at the altar of Hollywood productions. Currently, domestic films account for less than 25% of the box office revenue in Spain.
In 1987, the Spanish national film awards, Premio Goya, were established in order to honor the country's finest cinematic productions and top contributors. The ceremony is usually held at the end of January, with the awards - a small bust of Francisco Goya, designed by José Luis Fernandez - given for the films produced the previous year. Much like the American Oscars, the Goyas are awarded for a number of different categories. The following is a list of best films of the year, for films made in the 2000s:
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| Though the Spanish Golden Age of theater is past, there is still plenty to see |
Spanish theater blossomed in the Golden 17th century - El Siglo de Oro - with the likes of Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Calderon de la Barca. Though the 20th century is most remembered by Federico García Lorca, who brought international recognition to Spanish theater - his most famous works include Blood Wedding, Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba - academic circles are now reconsidering and showing a new interest in female dramatists of the period. Hopefully in the near future there will be more names from Spain gracing the international theater scene.
The annual theater festival in the nearby historic town of Alcalá de Henares covers a wide range of artistic genres including commedia del'arte, classical theater, opera, music and cinema. One of the biggest theater festivals is also held in the vicinity of Madrid: in Almagro in Castilla-La Mancha. Barcelona's popularly known 'Grec Festival' is the most significant cultural event of the summer and the annual Festival of Theater and Dance which takes place in Las Palmas hosts some of the best international theater companies. Another festival takes place in Merida, which with its backdrop of Roman ruins serves as a perfect setting. Latin American and Spanish theater can also be see at the festival in Cádiz. An International Theater Festival takes place in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the Basque Country.
