Belle Époque (film)

Belle Époque
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Fernando Trueba
Produced by	Fernando Trueba
Written by	Rafael Azcona José Luis García Sánchez Fernando Trueba
Starring	Jorge Sanz Penélope Cruz Fernando Fernán Gómez Miriam Díaz Aroca Ariadna Gil Maribel Verdú
Music by	Antoine Duhamel Guillermo Fernández-Shaw Federico Romero
Cinematography	José Luis Alcaine
Editing by	Carmen Frías
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics
Release date(s)	December 4, 1992 (1992-12-04)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish
Box office	$5,418,216 (United States)

Belle Époque is a 1992 Spanish film directed by Fernando Trueba. The title derives from the period in French history known as the Belle Époque (“The Beautiful Era”). Belle Époque received the Goya Award for Best Film and was named Best Foreign Language Film at the 66th Academy Awards.

Plot

The year is 1931. Spain is politically divided between Republicans and Traditionalists and on the verge of the Spanish Second Republic. Fernando, a young soldier, deserts his duty. He befriends Manolo, an old man with a large house in the country. Fernando meets and is enchanted by Manolo's four daughters. As he meets each of the first three one by one, he falls in love and has sex with each of them, determining to marry, but with each one a complication arises: Clara (a widow who only recently lost her husband and who seeks solace with Fernando); Violeta (a lesbian who is only attracted to Fernando when he is dressed as a woman for a costume ball); and Rocío (a social climber who is about to marry into a royalist family for the security it would provide, and who only momentarily succumbs to Fernando's charms). Heartbroken each time, the father of the girls encourages him to have patience. Each of the daughters is beautiful, and represents a different aspect of feminine sexuality. The youngest of the family, Luz, represents naïveté. While Fernando is pursuing her sisters, Luz gets progressively more angry and jealous, but eventually Fernando realizes that she is the best one of the four to marry.

Cast

• Jorge Sanz as Fernando
• Fernando Fernán Gómez as Manolo
• Miriam Díaz Aroca as Clara (as Miriam Díaz-Aroca)
• Ariadna Gil as Violeta
• Maribel Verdú as Rocío
• Penélope Cruz as Luz
• Gabino Diego as Juanito
• Michel Galabru as Danglard
• Agustín González as Don Luis
• Chus Lampreave as Doña Asun
• Mary Carmen Ramírez as Amalia
• Juan José Otegui as Soldier (El cabo)
• Jesús Bonilla as Soldier (El número)
• María Galiana as La Polonia
• Joan Potau as Paco (as Juan Potau)

Awards

• 1993 Goya Awards
  • Best Film (Mejor Película)
  • Best Director (Mejor Director) - Fernando Trueba
  • Best Lead Actress (Mejor Actriz Principal) - Ariadna Gil
  • Best Supporting Actor (Mejor Actor de Reparto) - Fernando Fernán Gómez
  • Best Supporting Actress (Mejor Actriz de Reparto) - Chus Lampreave
  • Best Original Screenplay (Mejor Guión Original) - Rafael Azcona, José Luis García Sánchez, Fernando Trueba
  • Best Cinematography (Mejor Fotografía) - José Luis Alcaine
  • Best Production Design (Mejor Dirección Artística) - Juan Botella
  • Best Editing (Mejor Montaje) - Carmen Frías
• 1993 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
• 43rd Berlin International Film Festival
  • Golden Bear (nominated)

External links

• Belle Époque at the Internet Movie Database
• Belle Époque (film) at Box Office Mojo