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The film and its makers. El Embrujo
de Shanghai (original title in English: Shanghai
Gesture) has been a controversial if not unfortunate
film, for a number of reasons which I shall not go into. It
is not a remake of the 1941 von
Sternberg film noir of that name which stars a
smoky Gene
Tierney, though it is set in that time. In fact, El
Embrujo de Shanghai (release date in Spain, April 12)
is based on a novel by the reputed Spanish author Juan
Marsé. The story is actually set in Barcelona in
the austere post-war period; the Shanghai element is deliberately
fantastic, the mental escape of an adolescent of the time.
Marsé is much liked by Spanish film-makers, his works
combining ambience (often melancholy), intrigue and savage
satire.
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Trueba
with Antonio Resines
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Selected Filmography
Calle 54 (2000)
Good Life, The (1996) (USA)
Two Much (1996)
Belle Époque (1992)
Sublet (1991)
Alas de mariposa (Butterfly Wings) (1991)
Juego más divertido, El (The Most Amazing Game)
(1987)
De tripas corazón (1985)
Lulú de noche (Lulu by Night) (1985)
Sal gorda (1984)
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Fernando
Trueba can be considered a typical Spanish film director,
in that he makes what is called here cine de autor,
which translates inadequately as "independent film."
The reason practically all Spanish films fall into this category
is that there is no really solid film industry in the country,
but the positive result of this is that the idiosyncracy,
independence and originality of directors like Trueba, Garci
(Volver a Empezar), Amenábar
(The
Others) or Almodóvar
(All About My Mother) are the rule rather than the
exception. Not that Trueba, in particular, disdains commercial
cinema: his credits include the totally (and deliberately)
derivative Antonio Banderas vehicle Two Much and his
Oscar
acceptance speech (for Belle Epoque - best Foreign
Language Film, 1993), thanking Billy
Wilder in lieu of God, is famous.
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The flower and cream. Produced
by Trueba's customary production company, Lolafilms,
El Embrujo de Shanghai is, by Spanish standards, a
large-budget film (nearly 7 million dollars). Apart from its
two young co-stars (Fernando Tielve and Aida Folch), the cast
comprises the best known and most respected of Spanish actors
(Ariadna
Gil, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Antonio
Resines, Rosa María Sardá, Jorge Sanz...
the flor y nata (literally "flower and cream,"
actually Spanish for crême de la crême).
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