Jump to content

The Wretched Life of Juanita Narboni

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Wretched Life of Juanita Narboni
SpanishLa vida perra de Juanita Narboni
Directed byFarida Benlyazid
Written byGerardo Bellod
Based onLa vida perra de Juanita Narboni
by Ángel Vázquez
Starring
CinematographyJosé Luis Alcaine
Edited byPablo G. Plant
Music byJorge Arriagada
Production
companies
  • ZAP Producciones
  • Tingitania Films
Release dates
  • 19 September 2005 (2005-09-19) (Zinemaldia)
  • 19 May 2006 (2006-05-19) (Spain)
Running time
101 minutes
Countries
  • Morocco
  • Spain
Languages
  • Moroccan Arabic
  • French
  • Spanish

The Wretched Life of Juanita Narboni (Spanish: La vida perra de Juanita Narboni), also known as Juanita de Tangier, is a 2005 drama film directed by Moroccan filmmaker Farida Benlyazid[1][2][3] and based on the novel of the same name by Ángel Vázquez [es].[4][5][6] It stars Mariola Fuentes alongside Salima Benmounem and Lou Doillon.

Synopsis

[edit]

Juanita, daughter of an English father from Gibraltar and an Andalusian mother, narrates her life story, mirroring the history of Tangier between the 1940s and 1970s, the period of its zenith as well as its decline as a cosmopolitan city. She recounts the stories of her sister Helena; infatuated with freedom; of Esther, her close Moroccan Jewish friend who has helplessly fallen in love with a Muslim, and of Hamruch, her faithful Moroccan maid who is all the family she has left. In the background of these lives, a series of events happens: the Spanish Civil War and the invasion of Tangier, the Second World War, and the arrival of refugees from Europe. Eventually Juanita finds herself alone with Hamruch in her city. After the independence of Morocco in 1956, it is returning to its Arab origins.[7][8][9][10]

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

The film is a Spanish-Moroccan co-production by ZAP Producciones and Tingitania Films.[10]

Release

[edit]

The film was presented in the official selection the 53rd San Sebastián International Film Festival on 19 September 2005.[11][12][13] It also screened at the National Film Festival [fr] in Tangier, in which the film won the Best Supporting Actress Award for Salima Benmoumen.[14] It was released theatrically in Spain on 19 May 2006.[15]

Reception

[edit]

Deborah Young of Variety deemed the film to be "uninvolving and schematic as it races through 20th century history", while positively mentioning "its real warmth for the city's diversity".[10]

Awards and accolades

[edit]
  • National Moroccan Film Festival (Tangier 2005)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Martes de Cine... en casa: 'La vida perra de Juanita Narboni´". Fundación Tres Culturas (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  2. ^ "Cine: La vida perra de Juanita Narboni". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  3. ^ "Africiné - Juanita de Tanger (La chienne de vie de Juanita Narboni)". Africiné (in French). Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  4. ^ "'La vida perra de Juanita Narboni' de Ángel Vázquez". El Correo (in Spanish). 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  5. ^ "'La vida perra de Juanita Narboni' contra dos historias de amor - cultura - elmundo.es". www.elmundo.es. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  6. ^ Valenzuela, Javier (2002-10-13). "La 'segunda' vida perra de Juanita Narboni". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  7. ^ Hottell, Ruth A.; Pallister, Janis L. (2011-09-16). Noteworthy Francophone Women Directors: A Sequel. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-1-61147-444-2.
  8. ^ Gugler, Josef (2011-01-15). Film in the Middle East and North Africa: Creative Dissidence. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-72327-6.
  9. ^ Armes, Roy (2018-01-06). Roots of the New Arab Film. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-03173-0.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Young, Deborah (5 October 2005). "The Wretched Life Of Juanita Narboni". Variety. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  11. ^ Cerviño, Mercedes (20 September 2006). "'La vida perra de Juanita Narboni' contra dos historias de amor". El Mundo.
  12. ^ "Festival de San Sebastián". sansebastianfestival. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  13. ^ "Actividades culturales del Instituto Cervantes". cultura.cervantes.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  14. ^ Hopewell, John (12 December 2005). "Moroccan fest blesses 'Child'". Variety.
  15. ^ "La vida perra de Juanita Narboni". Fotogramas. 29 May 2008.
[edit]