2 reviews
A survival drama about tragical loves in which two brothers , a good guy called Carmelo: Conrado San Martin and a bad guy called Jorge : Jean Danet , compete for the love a femme fatale , Alicia : Pascale Roberts . The tough fisherman Jorge wishing for a better life will turn a smuggler in Tanger , taking a lot of smuggling goods and even involving his good brother into the wrong misdemeanors . Things go awry when Alicia falls for Jorge and a loving triangle takes place . Several flashbacks occur aboard the "San Juan" boat in which the two brothers meet again . After a strong argument between Carmelo and Florencio: Fernando Nogueras , the latter falls down sea and Jorge blames him his drowning .
In the film various issues are treated such as objects smuggling , the hardworking fishing by boats , trawling , and paced in semi-documentary style , including rural habits , Folkloric chorus and dances , village parties , cockfighting , religiosity and many other things .This is a Spanish/French coproduction in fabulous Technicolor in which there are thills , emotion , passion and confrontation . Protagonist trio : Conrado San Martin and the other French players give acceptable acting . They are accompanied by a nice plethora of Spanish secondaries , such as : Fernando Sancho, Mariano Azaña , Jose Prada, Rufino Ingles , Fernando Nogueros , Rafael Bardem and special mention for Xan Das Bolas who steals the show playing a sympathetic role as Sabio or Wise .
It displays a colorful and evocative cinematography in Agfacolor by Jose Aguayo , and photography assistant by the prestigious Alejandro Ulloa , being shot in Huelva Andalucia and studios Ballesteros . The motion picture was well directed by Arturo Ruiz Del Castillo. He was a notorious drawer , writer,filmmaker and producer , creating Horizonte Film Production . In his beginning he worked at the Barraca stage company along with Federico Garcia Lorca and made several shorts . His first film was "Las inquietudes de Santi Andia" based on Pio Baroja novel who also wrote the script . It failed at boxoffice and as a result , Castillo started to direct popular films in all kinds of genres such as Religious movie : " La manigua sin Dios" , about Paraguay colonization by Jesuitas ; Wartime : " El santuario no se rinde" upon the siege of Santa Maria de Cabeza during Spanish Civil War ; Historical: " Catalina de Inglaterra" ; Melodrama : "La laguna negra" based on Antonio Machado poem ; Children picture: " Pachin" ; Spaghetti : "El secreto del capitan O'Hara" ; Folkloric movies : "Maria Antonia La Caramba" , " Bajo el cielo Andaluz" ; sports movie : Ases buscan la paz about footballer Ladislao Kubala , and he standed out in the comic-sketch movie "El guardian del Paraiso" , among others. Rating : 6.5/10 well worth watching . The picture will appeal to Spanish cinema buffs
In the film various issues are treated such as objects smuggling , the hardworking fishing by boats , trawling , and paced in semi-documentary style , including rural habits , Folkloric chorus and dances , village parties , cockfighting , religiosity and many other things .This is a Spanish/French coproduction in fabulous Technicolor in which there are thills , emotion , passion and confrontation . Protagonist trio : Conrado San Martin and the other French players give acceptable acting . They are accompanied by a nice plethora of Spanish secondaries , such as : Fernando Sancho, Mariano Azaña , Jose Prada, Rufino Ingles , Fernando Nogueros , Rafael Bardem and special mention for Xan Das Bolas who steals the show playing a sympathetic role as Sabio or Wise .
It displays a colorful and evocative cinematography in Agfacolor by Jose Aguayo , and photography assistant by the prestigious Alejandro Ulloa , being shot in Huelva Andalucia and studios Ballesteros . The motion picture was well directed by Arturo Ruiz Del Castillo. He was a notorious drawer , writer,filmmaker and producer , creating Horizonte Film Production . In his beginning he worked at the Barraca stage company along with Federico Garcia Lorca and made several shorts . His first film was "Las inquietudes de Santi Andia" based on Pio Baroja novel who also wrote the script . It failed at boxoffice and as a result , Castillo started to direct popular films in all kinds of genres such as Religious movie : " La manigua sin Dios" , about Paraguay colonization by Jesuitas ; Wartime : " El santuario no se rinde" upon the siege of Santa Maria de Cabeza during Spanish Civil War ; Historical: " Catalina de Inglaterra" ; Melodrama : "La laguna negra" based on Antonio Machado poem ; Children picture: " Pachin" ; Spaghetti : "El secreto del capitan O'Hara" ; Folkloric movies : "Maria Antonia La Caramba" , " Bajo el cielo Andaluz" ; sports movie : Ases buscan la paz about footballer Ladislao Kubala , and he standed out in the comic-sketch movie "El guardian del Paraiso" , among others. Rating : 6.5/10 well worth watching . The picture will appeal to Spanish cinema buffs
A very curious and unknown coproduction between France and Spain, wi-th a lot of antropological setting and even some folclorical details but far away of the tipical folcloric spanish genre called españolada.
Shooted by Pepe Aguayo in a beautiful fiftys Agfacolor cinematography and directed by Ruiz Castillo in a semidocumentary style, with a lot of scenes outdoors, in the beach and the sea, and sailing on a ship, may be this film is not as good as "La Venganza" (Juan Antonio Bardem, 1959), and of course it didn't gain its prestige and fame, remaining as an hidden little gem, but it also deals with the hard life of some workers (fishermen in this, as Bardem did with reapers) and their laboral explotaition. And includes a torrid triangle of love and passion around a woman (Pascal Roberts), and even a fire near the end, as well.
Appealing and not insignificant