The Grandfather
by José Luis Garci
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Agustín González, Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, Cristina Cruz, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Rafael AlonsoDirector: José Luis Garci
Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
Cinematographer: Raúl Pérez Cubero
Producer: José Luis Garci
Writer: José Luis Garci
Editor: Miguel González Sinde
Producer: Luis María Delgado
Writer: Benito Pérez Galdós
Writer: Horacio Valcárcel
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Original Language); English (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 151 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-08-08
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Model: 01830800
Studio: Miramax
Movie Reviews of The Grandfather
Movie Review: The Purgatory of souls lost between love and honor
Summary: 5 Stars
This powerful Spanish film lost to the monster hit LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL in 1998.What a shame that such a wonderful and multi-layered gem lay undiscovered to me until now.
What on the surface appears to be a very simple story of a Grandfather wanting to know which of his two granddaughters is his blood,is frankly way more than what is presented at face value.Even down to the choices of music allowed by director Jose Luis Garci,THE GRANDFATHER is an engrossing story about the end of one way of life and the inevitability of the new.Spain,like many countries, is embarking on the the twentieth century.Governments have changed,the bourgeois class has risen in worth,aristocratic families have little left than their honored names and the players at this time are caught "in the blessed purgatory" between the uncomfortable shift of the loyalty and honor to the old system vs.independent living and a move towards equal living and opportunity for all citizens.Count Albrit,the Grandfather, has returned to one of his many homes to uncover the lineage of his two granddaughters.Bloodline is the all important and all-consuming importance for the Count.He knows that his daughter-in-law,somewhere along the line,had an affair on his son,and will only recognize his true blood as the rightful heiress to a family fortune that extends seven generations,but is no where near in fortune as it once was.The townspeople treat the Grandfather with "loyalty and respect and honor",but as the film points out,they are now no longer subservient to his family...or are they? Count Albrit, though "respecting" the people in their new positions in life,still has the old aristocratic "bow to me" and is insulted by their "ingratitude" for how his family's benevolence over the years has made it possible for them to be where they are today.Each group is willing to betray the other, just as The Grandfather,Count Albrit is willing to deny one girl in favor of another.The screenplay returns us time and again to the English Bard Shakespeare's question of "To be or not to be;whether 'tis nobler..." and to the romance and freedom that has resulted in France.Even the music of English composers Edward Elgar (English) and Eris Satie (France) play up against the music of Spain showing us that Spain's old way must decline and new life must be accommodated.The the mother of the two girls is the perfect metaphor of this struggle.She married out of duty and what she thought was love,only to fall for a painter at some point and give birth to one of the two girls.She herself is a victim caught between the decaying old and the rising new.Even the two girls are different in their respective attitudes.The eldest,Dolly,has the aristocratic attitude and feels a sense of superiority for her Albrit heritage; the younger,Nelly, is a free-spirited artist who wants to experience all that life offers.Count Albrit thinks he knows which girl is his blood.Does he...and how can he deny love to the other in order to honor one? This dilemma plays right up to the last minute of the film.It is a thought-provoking script and sublimely acted by the same cast that starred in ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER.The cinematography is Raul Perez Cubero is some of the finest ever done.This is a "thinker's film" for those who question which is nobler;LOVE or HONOR? Truly a magnificent piece of film making.
Summary of The Grandfather
GRANDFATHER, THESimilar DVD Movies
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