#403: SAURA, Carlos: Cría Cuervos . . . (1976)

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SAURA, Carlos (Spain)
Cría Cuervos . . . [1976]
Spine #403
DVD


Cría cuervos . . . , Carlos Saura's masterpiece, heralded a turning point in Spain: shot while General Franco was on his deathbed, the film paints a haunting portrait of the legacy of Fascism and its effects on a middle-class family (the title derives from the Spanish proverb "Raise ravens and they'll peck out your eyes"). Ana Torrent (the dark-eyed beauty from The Spirit of the Beehive) portrays the disturbed eight-year-old Ana, living in Madrid with her two sisters and mourning the death of her mother, whom she conjures as a ghost (an ethereal Geraldine Chaplin). Seamlessly shifting between fantasy and reality, the film subtly evokes both the complex feelings of childhood and the struggles of a nation emerging from the shadows.

109 minutes
Color
Monaural
in Spanish
1:66:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2007
Director/Writer


Carlos Saura was 44 when he wrote and directed Cría Cuervos . . .

Other Saura films in the Collection:

Eclipse Series 6: Blood Wedding (1981)
Eclipse Series 6: Carmen (1983)
Eclipse Series 6: El Amor Brujo (1986)

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Eighteen-page booklet featuring an essay by Paul Julian Smith.

Commentary

None.

Portrait of Carlos Saura

A documentary on the life and career of the Spanish auteur.

Interviews

With actresses Chaplin and Torrent.

Original theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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