Mario Camus' personal film about the ¨Return¨ , as an old Spanish man (Vaclav Vodak) returns Santander from Russia , he is an exiled veteran from Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) , after fifty years he goes back to see his brother (Fernando Rey) and to meet his nephew Amós Carro (Carmelo Gómez) , a movie fan person , and to die in his intimate land : the wonderful city of Santander . But his arrival creates a complex story about a missing painting that uncovers a cobweb of lies , dark plots , intrigues and romances among various characters .
This is a provoking but slow-moving drama with suspense , concerning a few roles who suffer the consequences of their decisions , as well as a twisted intrigue about a Pablo Picasso painting that results to be the McGuffin of the movie . There Mario Camus deals with the personal ¨Return¨ , this issue was also treated in ¨Volver a vivir¨(1967) and ¨La vieja Musica¨(1985) . The script takes us into the human reality on these characters , victims of their own inner ghosts , wrong decisions and love stories . Here we find acute descriptions about interesting characters , some atmospheric settings as well as attractive and troublesome roles . And with that appealing plot , I welcome the sublime complexity with which the story is concerned , full of twists and turns , and in which stands out the peculiar atmosphere that provides photography . It is a noir and thought-provoking drama about a man who goes back his natal Santander living long time ago in Russia . His arrival in Santander causing emotion , distresses , moving old stories , passions , and sadness . There is also a real homage to cult cinema , as starring well incarnated by Carmelo Gómez , is usually watching classic and cult films , as Mario Camus pays tribute to his very beloved pictures . The main strength of the film resides on the adequate interpretations . Here stands out Carmelo Gómez , and Antonio Valero , two famed Spanish actors . Support cast is pretty well , these roles are habitual archetypes rather common in this thrilling genre , such as : Lluis Homar as an eye private , Ana Belén as Femme fatale , Fiorella Flatoyano as a predating lawyer , Eulalia Ramón , Fernando Rey , Agustin Gonzalez , and the model and newcomer actress Judit Mascó who in ¨El largo invierno¨ had Yoga Award to Worst Spanish Actress , among others .
Adequate and evocative cinematography by Jaime Peracaula shot in Santander and Madrid ; however , being necessary an alright remastering . Along with appropriate production design by veteran Rafael Palmero . And classic musical score by Johannes Sebastian Bach , Concierto para violonchello y orquesta 172 , written by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach , performed by Orquesta Amadeus , conducted by Wolfgang A. Izquierdo . The motion picture was well directed by Mario Camus following his particular style . Camus was born in Santander , Cantabria , location in which often shoots his films . Camus's early films were the interesting "Young Sanchez" , along with ¨Los Farsantes¨ and ¨Con Viento Solano¨ . He worked with Carlos Saura in several screenplays during the early 60s as ¨Los Golfos¨ (1960), ¨ Llanto Por Un Bandido¨ (1964), and also directed some shorts . Camus shows a penchant for literary and perhaps he's the best Spanish film adapter, a fact that will be a constant in his films . His first feature films were ¨Los Farsantes¨ (1963) and ¨Young Sánchez¨ (1964), this is one of the greatest movies about boxing which won the Best Film Award at the Buenos Aires Festival . Mario has an important career with film and television adaptations quite remarkable , as he efficiently directed yarns based on notorious writers such as Perez Galdos , García Lorca , Cela Camilo José Cela and Miguel Delibes . During various decades he touched styles varying from romantic comedies and musicals with ¨Rafael¨ to splendid adaptations from famous novels , as is the case of the prestigious TV series "Fortunata y Jacinta" (1979) . In 1983 he was given the 'Medalla Oro De las Bellas Artes' (Arts Gold Medal), and one year later he prepared his most successful work both with public and critic : ¨Los Santos Inocentes¨ (1984), an adaptation from the novel by Miguel Delibes . Mario is an expert on interesting dramas as proved in ¨ The house of Bernarda Alba¨ , ¨La Colmena¨ which won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival , ¨The days of the past ¨ and many others . Rating : Acceptable and decent film ; it's an enjoyable film , though slow-moving , at times .
