"It was five in the afternoon...It was exactly five in the afternoon", the opening words that come to haunt Marcos Zurinaga's moving thriller, The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca, a partly-fictionalised story attempting to uncover the truth about the assassination of Federico Garcia Lorca, one of Spain's most respected and yet controversial authors, by the Civil Guard, at the turn of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The film tells of a journalist, Ricardo (played passionately by Esai Morales), a Spanish exile who decides to return to his native Granada some 20 years after Lorca's death in an attempt to uncover the truth about the demise of his literary hero. However, now under Franco's dictatorship, the tensions of Spain's past are still palpable, and soon Ricardo's quest for answers becomes a dangerous one indeed.
This film is not particularly well known, unless perhaps you're a Lorca aficionado. It seems to have gone straight to video, and petered out over the years, and is not easily sourced in the shops. More's the pity, since this is a gripping work. Andy Garcia, a prominent actor at the time, takes the role of Lorca. His cuban roots means he has enough Spanish in him to execute the role well. Also worth a mention is Dutch actor, Jeroen Krabbé, who takes the role of the dubious Colonel Aguirre. Krabbé is an incredibly versatile actor and a very familiar face in cinema. Any Bond fan will know him as the bumbling General Koskov from The Living Daylights (1987).
As a Languages graduate having studied abroad in Andalusia, (Lorca's turf, as it were), I've become very interested in Lorca's history. Scarcely two weeks ago I visited Lorca's family home, which was, paradoxically, tucked away in the expanse of Granada. I couldn't help feeling a sadness in the rooms, given his tragic story. The film, in a broader sense, is also about time and memory. The recurring motif of the clock, which ties in with the quotation of "Five in the afternoon" from Lorca's "Lament for the Death of Ignacio Sánchez Mejías" recalls other European films such as Schlöndorff's The Tin Drum (1979) and Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run (1999). The film's direction, by Puerto Rican director, Marcos Zurinaga, is inspiring, and the soundtrack by Mark McKenzie is both sad and beautiful.The cinematography by Juan Ruiz-Anchía is also very pleasing, featuring many nostalgic shots of Granada. The only thing that lets the film down in terms of authenticity is the mix of accents. Some actors attempt a Spanish accent, while others do not, but maybe I'm being pedantic there. This is a very understated film, consequently one can only hope for it's resurgence.
This film is not particularly well known, unless perhaps you're a Lorca aficionado. It seems to have gone straight to video, and petered out over the years, and is not easily sourced in the shops. More's the pity, since this is a gripping work. Andy Garcia, a prominent actor at the time, takes the role of Lorca. His cuban roots means he has enough Spanish in him to execute the role well. Also worth a mention is Dutch actor, Jeroen Krabbé, who takes the role of the dubious Colonel Aguirre. Krabbé is an incredibly versatile actor and a very familiar face in cinema. Any Bond fan will know him as the bumbling General Koskov from The Living Daylights (1987).
As a Languages graduate having studied abroad in Andalusia, (Lorca's turf, as it were), I've become very interested in Lorca's history. Scarcely two weeks ago I visited Lorca's family home, which was, paradoxically, tucked away in the expanse of Granada. I couldn't help feeling a sadness in the rooms, given his tragic story. The film, in a broader sense, is also about time and memory. The recurring motif of the clock, which ties in with the quotation of "Five in the afternoon" from Lorca's "Lament for the Death of Ignacio Sánchez Mejías" recalls other European films such as Schlöndorff's The Tin Drum (1979) and Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run (1999). The film's direction, by Puerto Rican director, Marcos Zurinaga, is inspiring, and the soundtrack by Mark McKenzie is both sad and beautiful.The cinematography by Juan Ruiz-Anchía is also very pleasing, featuring many nostalgic shots of Granada. The only thing that lets the film down in terms of authenticity is the mix of accents. Some actors attempt a Spanish accent, while others do not, but maybe I'm being pedantic there. This is a very understated film, consequently one can only hope for it's resurgence.