The story of Juan De Austria , called Jeromín as a child , he was the product of a brief liaison between Charles V , Holy Roman Emperor (a widower since 1539) and Barbara Blomberg , a burgher's daughter and singer . In the summer of 1554 , the boy unaware of his royal ascent was taken to the castle of Luis De Quijada (Rafael Durán) in Villagarcía De Campos , Valladolid , to live near emperor Carlos of Spain . His wife , Magdalena De Ulloa (Ana Mariscal), took charge of his education , assisted by a Latin teacher , a chaplain , and the squire Juan Galarza (Antonio Riquelme) . Charles V (Jesús Tordesillas) wrote a codicil, in which he recognized: "For since I was in Germany, after being widowed, I had a natural child of one unmarried woman, named Geronimo". In the summer of 1558, Charles V had ordered Luis De Quijada to relocate him to the village of Cuacos de Yuste . The Emperor was already residing nearby at the Monastery of Yuste. From that time forward, and until his own death in September of that year, Charles V saw his son (now an 11 year old boy) several times . In his last will of 1558 , the Emperor officially recognized Jeromín as his son , and had requested that the child would be renamed John , honoring his late mother (and Jeromín's grandmother) Queen Joanna I of Castile , Charles also made the provision that John should enter the clergy and pursue an ecclesiastical career . Charles V's only surviving legitimate son and heir, now King Philip II (Adolfo Marsillach) after his father's abdication, was then outside of Spain . Philip II returned from Brussels in 1559 , aware of his father's will . Once he had settled in Valladolid, he had summoned De Quijada to bring along Jeromín to a hunt . When the King appeared, Luis De Quijada told Jeromín to dismount and make proper obeisance to his master . When Jeromín did so , Philip II asked him if he knew the identity of his father . When the boy did not know , the King embraced him and explained that they had the same father and thus were brothers .
Spanish semi-historical movie , being starred by all-Spanish-star-cast and is packed with strong ideological charge , great production and spectacular scenes . This picture contains some historical remarks but is spoiled by overacting , most play similarly to stage actors ; as the influence of the theater in players results to be extreme and embarrassing ; as some actors usually looking at horizon and declaiming silly and symbolic sentences . Special mention for Antonio Riquelme as the sympathetic and fast-talking squire . The settings are acceptable though mostly made in ¨Carton-Piedra (stone)¨ and created by Espinosa and Gil Parrondo , the latter deemed to be the best designer of Spanish film history and he even won several Oscars . Decent cinematography in black and White by Cecilio Paniagua and Mario Pacheco , and mostly shot in castle of Manzanares . Evocative musical score by Juan Quintero . The motion picture was lavishly produced and professionally directed by Luis Lucia . He was an advocate at law for the powerful Francoist company CIFESA that produced super-productions and often financed these false but breathtaking historical spectacles . His film debut was ¨13-13¨ and subsequently ¨Hombre De Negocios¨, two average ¨comedies . Later on , he directed two dated historical dramas : ¨Princesa De Ursinos¨ and ¨Jeromin¨ . And he made various Folkloric films for Juanita Reina : ¨Lóla La Piconera¨ , ¨Gloria Mairena¨ , Carmen Sevilla : ¨Hermana De San Sulpicio¨ , Lola Flores : ¨Morena Clara¨ , Antonio Molina : ¨Esta Voz Es Una Mina¨ , among others . Lucia discovered children prodigy as Marisol , Rocio Durcal , Ana Belén and Jaime Blanch .
This ¨Jeromin¨ is based on real events . As Juan De Austria, in English traditionally known as Don John of Austria was an illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Philip II , however , was strict regarding protocol : although Jeromín was a member of the House of Habsburg, he was not to be addressed as "your Highness", the form reserved for royals and sovereign princes. In formal style he was "your excellency", the address used for a Spanish Grande , and known as Don Juan De Austria. John did not live in a royal palace, but rather maintained a separate household with Luis De Quijada as the head . King Philip II had allowed John the incomes allocated to him by Charles V , so that he might maintain the status proper to a son of an emperor and brother to the King . In public ceremonies, John stood , walked or rode behind the royal family, but ahead of the Grandes . He became a military leader in the service of his half-brother , King Philip II of Spain . The King appointed John of Austria Captain General, that is, supreme commander of the royal forces and to fight against Rebellion of the Alpujarras (1568–71). 1570, John had negotiated a peace with El Habaquí . In the summer and fall of 1570 the last campaigns were carried out to subdue the rebels. In 1571, Philip II signed the decree of expulsion of all the Moriscos from the Kingdom of Granada . John's letters described the forced exile of entire families, women and children, as the greatest "human misery" that can be portrayed . John is best known for his role as the admiral of the Holy Alliance fleet at the Battle of Lepanto . As the War of Cyprus became the focus of Spain's attention after Pope Pius V sent an envoy to urge Philip to join with him and Venice in a Holy League against the Turks .
