The Longest Night (1991 film)

The Longest Night
Theatrical release poster
SpanishLa noche más larga
Directed byJosé Luis García Sánchez
Screenplay by
Based onEl año que murió Franco
by Pedro J. Ramírez
Produced byAndrés Vicente Gómez
Starring
CinematographyFernando Arribas
Edited byPablo G. del Amo
Music byAlejandro Massó
Production
company
Iberoamericana Films
Distributed byUnited International Pictures
Release dates
  • 23 September 1991 (1991-09-23) (Zinemaldia)
  • 4 October 1991 (1991-10-04) (Spain)
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish

The Longest Night (Spanish: La noche más larga)[1] is a 1991 Spanish historical drama film directed by José Luis García Sánchez which stars Juan Echanove alongside Carmen Conesa and Juan Diego. Written by García Sánchez alongside Carmen Rico Godoy and Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, the screenplay is based on the story El año que murió Franco by Pedro J. Ramírez. The movie deals with the social amnesia that fell upon Franco's regime times once democracy was restored in Spain.[2]

Plot

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The plot concerns about the last executions carried out by the Francoist regime on 27 September 1975. In a night during 1990, both the military prosecutor of the trial and one of the defense attorneys meet on a train, recalling memories of the last days of Francoist Spain and the political transition that followed, as well as of their personal lives.[3][4][2]

Cast

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Production

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Based on the book by Pedro J. Ramírez, the screenplay was penned by Carmen Rico Godoy, Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, and José Luis García Sánchez.[7] The film was produced by Andrés Vicente Gómez's Iberoamericana Films.[8] Shooting locations included Casa Mingo [es] in Madrid.[8]

Release

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The film screened in competition at the 39th San Sebastián International Film Festival on 23 September 1991.[7] Distributed by United International Pictures, the film was released theatrically in Spain on 4 October 1991.[9]

Reception

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The film was met with chilliness by the critics, most acrimoniously by the Basque ones.[7] Casimiro Torreiro of El País questioned the choices of silencing that two ETA members were facing the same plight as those detainees in the fiction, with the film also concealing the names of the organizations to which the depicted anti-fascists belonged to[7] (the FRAP).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bentley, Bernard P.E. (2008). A Companion to Spanish Cinema. p. 292. ISBN 978-1-85566-176-9.
  2. ^ a b Muñoz, Diego (21 August 1990). "García Sánchez lleva al cine los últimos fusilamientos del franquismo". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Glòria Serra y su equipo investigan las apps de citas". Vertele!. 3 March 2017 – via eldiario.es.
  4. ^ Tschilschke 2017, p. 24.
  5. ^ a b c Tschilschke 2017, p. 28.
  6. ^ Tschilschke, Christian von (2017). "La pena de muerte como dilema moral en la literatura y el cine españoles" (PDF). Ser y deber ser: dilemas morales y conflictos éticos del siglo XX vistos a través de la ficción. p. 28. ISBN 978-84-1692-219-2.
  7. ^ a b c d Torreiro, Casimiro (24 September 1991). "El "día español' se saldó con un balance desigual". El País (in Spanish).
  8. ^ a b "La noche más larga". Madrid Film Office. Madrid Destino Cultura Turismo y Negocio S.A. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  9. ^ Camarero Gómez, Gloria. "La noche más larga · España 1991". Base de datos: Adaptaciones de la Literatura española en el cine español. Retrieved 28 January 2023 – via Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.