Asturian-American Migration Forum

Evelyn and I watched El Abuelo (The Grandfather) last night and were enchanted by it. The cinematography was gorgeous and it was filmed largely in Asturias (with a scene or two in Mexico or Madrid). I think it is worth watching for the scenes of Asturias alone, and the story is charming as well (the third movie that has been made from the original story). An indiano who has lost everything in the New World returns home (a conde no less) and ultimately discovers that love triumphs over "honor," as he reunites with his granddaughters.

Fernando Fernán Gómez and Rafael Alonso put in fine performances. The movie is marred only by some bad dubbing of the voice sound track in some scenes, where the lips of the characters and what they are saying don't quite match. Subtitles are available on the DVD for those who do not speak Spanish. The photography is beautiful, although the scenes are spread over geographic distances that could not possibly be true if the story were real.

The movie is a good one, and I highly recommend it.

To me the landscapes of Llanes were the best part of this movie, together with the performances of Fernando Fernán Gómez and Rafael Alonso, of course. Garci loves to make his films in Asturias, his Oscar-winning "Begin the Beguine" (Volver a empezar) was shot almost entirely on location in Asturias more than 20 years ago.
Bob, if you can find it, it's a pretty good historic document where you can see what Gijón and other Asturian cities and towns looked like in the late 70's/early 80's.

However, we owe the beauty of the film to the art director, our own Asturian-born Gil Parrondo, winner of two Oscars for "Patton" and "Nicholas and Alexandra". I can't find words to describe his work; the way he masters his trade to create intensely beautiful and powerful scenes is out of this world, he's a true genius.
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Para mí los paisajes de Llanes fueron lo mejor de esta película, junto con las interpretaciones de Fernán Gómez y Rafael Alonso, claro. A Garci le encanta hacer sus películas en Asturias, su película oscarizada "Volver a empezar" se filmó casi toda en Asturias hace ya más de 20 años. Bob, si la encuentras, es un buen testigo histórico de cómo eran Gijón y otras ciudades y pueblos de Asturias a finales de los 70/principio de los 80.

No obstante la belleza de la película se la debemos al director artístico, el asturiano Gil Parrondo, ganador de dos Oscars for "Patton" y "Nicolás y Alexandra". No encuentro palabras para definir su trabajo; su maestría para crear escenas intensamente bellas y poderosas no tiene parangón - es un auténtico genio.

If anyone has suggestions for other good movies that were filmed in Asturias, please post them here.

Terechu, thanks for you suggestion. I will look for the film.

Bob, another film shot in Asturias (though not exclusively) is Gonzalo Suárez's "Remando al viento" (Rowing with the wind), which starred a very young, unknow Hugh Grant and Liz Hurley. It's worth seeing for that reason alone , but the scenes on the beaches of Llanes look beautiful. It's about the Shelleys and Lord Byron.

I remember Garci filming some more in Asturias, but don't remember the titles. Does anybody know?

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Bob, otra película filmada en Asturias (aunque no exclusivamente) es "Remando al viento" de Gonzalo Suárez, protagonizada por unos jovencísimos y desconocidos Hugh Grant y Liz Hurley. Sólo por eso ya merece la pena verla , pero las escenas en las playas de Llanas son preciosas. Trata de la vida de los Shelley y de Lord Byron.

Garci hizo más películas en Asturias, pero no recuerdo los títulos. ¿Alguien se acuerda de más películas?

"Asignatura aprobada"(1987), "You're the One(una historia de entonces)(2000)",algunas escenas de "Sesión continua"(1984) y de "El Crack"(1981)
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"Course Completed"(1987), "You're the One"(2000), some scenes from "Double Feature"(1984) and "The Crack"(1981)

By the way, for those in the NYC area, "El abuelo" will be screened in the Walter Reade Theater at the Lincoln Center on Dec. 27 and 28. It is part of a Spanish film festival which is about to end and includes a tribute to Fernán-Gómez. The program is available here:
http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/programs/12 ... pain04.htm

Regards,
Germán