Carlos Saura: his Argentine film that almost won the Oscar

In the Spanish capital, the filmmaker and writer Carlos Saura He died at the age of 91 due to respiratory failure. Recognized for his prolific career in cinematography as a director, screenwriter and photographer, his audiovisual legacy was consolidated in more than 50 films that took place from the decadence of the Franco regime until last year.

his last film “The walls speak”, made in 2022, had a very satisfactory reception among specialized critics. For this reason, the Spanish director was preparing to develop the biopic of the life and work of the painter from Malaga Pablo Picasso. In addition, he was announced as the winner of the goya award of Honor that was planned to be delivered at a gala ceremony this weekend.

Although the cinema was the strongest point in the artistic production of Carlos Saura, he also ventured into other arts such as literature, photography and theater direction. adaptations to the stage “The colonel has no one to write to him” and “La fiesta del chivo” They bear his signature. In the musical field, Carlos Saura directed the opera Bizet’s “Carmen” on four occasions, from 1991 to 2010. In this field, his last work was with the musical work Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”.

“Ay, Carmela”, “Cría cuervos”, “La madriguera”, “Salomé”, “La cousin Angélica” and “Fados”, are just a few tapes of his coarse production in the seventh art. Considered one of the classic-style narrators of modern Spanish cinema, Saura took his cinematographic vision to fields as diverse as documentary and musical.

Argentina was one of the countries that the Spanish obtained great support in its realization. After the success of “Ay Carmela”in national theaters at the beginning of the 90s, Saura was summoned to assume the script and direction of the film “Tango, never leave me”. In 1998, Argentinian Sono Film I carry out the ambitious millionaire project for a world premiere.

The film featured a first-rate international artistic and technical cast. Made by Miguel Ángel Sola, Mía Maestro and Enrique Pinti, the tape maintained a body work from the dance personified by the dancers Juan Carlos Copes and Julio Bocca.

The technical area was luxury, in the photographic direction the Italian Vittorio Storaro, recognized for handling light on film Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola, was essential for the visual positioning of the film. In this regard, the music by the Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin It was the other leg on which creativity and good reviews were sustained.

However, the collection of the tape was much lower than expected and did not complete the cost of the investment. On the contrary, in the field of film festivals and award events, the film was chosen to compete with several nominations. He Cannes Film Festival, the Goya Awards and the Golden Globes were some of the scenarios.

The highest point occurred in the seventy-first edition of the Oscar awards by participating in the category of Best Foreign Film (Foreign Language). Carlos Saura, being a Spanish filmmaker, was still able to accompany the film representing the Albiceleste nation in the highest Academy Award. But the winner of the statuette was for “Life is beautiful”, starring Roberto Begnini.

Carlos Saura maintained a personal production committed to art. Married at the time to the actress Geraldine Chaplin, The Spanish filmmaker achieved an outstanding career making him a legend of Spanish cinema.

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