El cónsul de Sodoma
| The Consul of Sodom | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Sigfrid Monleón |
| Produced by | Andrés Vicente Gómez |
| Written by | Miguel Dalmau |
| Screenplay by | Joaquín Górriz Miguel A Fernández Sigfrid Monleón |
| Based on | the biography by Miguel Dalmau |
| Starring |
Jordi Mollà Bimba Bosé Àlex Brendemühl Josep Linuesa Isaac de los Reyes |
| Music by | Joan Valvent |
| Cinematography | Jose David Garcia Montero |
| Edited by | Pablo Blanco |
| Distributed by | Rodeo Media |
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Release date
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Running time
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112 minutes |
| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
| Box office | 335.848,24 € |
The Consul of Sodom (Spanish: El Cónsul de Sodoma) is a 2009 Spanish film directed by Sigfrid Monleón and starring Jordi Mollà. It is a biopic of the Catalan poet Jaime Gil de Biedma, based on a biography written by Miguel Dalmau.
In 1959, Jaime Gil de Biedma, a wealthy poet from Barcelona, is visiting Manila on business trip as director of the Philippine Tobacco Company. At night, the poet gives free rein to his homosexuality. He meets Johnny, a young man who works in an erotic nightclub, and they have sex. The poverty of Manila makes a deep impression on Jaime and heightens his social conscience.
Back in Barcelona, the Spanish police interrogate Jaime about some of his subversive friends who are still dreaming of regime change in Spain. Ironically Jaime is refused membership in the Communist Party because he is gay. He visits his friend and editor Carlos Barral, and meets Juan Marsé, a young writer about to publish his first novel. Jaime is trying to save his relationship with Luis, his lover, but although in love with him, Jaime treats Luis, who is of humble background, with contempt. After a heated argument Luis leaves him for good. Describing himself as "a Sunday poet with a Monday conscience", Jaime mixes his weekly working days for his family's company with a bohemian lifestyle on weekends. Don Luis, Jaime's father, takes care of Jaime's troubles with the police, but he warns his son he has to sort his life out because he is putting his family and the business in jeopardy.
By the mid 1960s, Jaime favorite spot is the Bocaccio nightclub where he meets the sexy and enigmatic Bel, a divorced woman with two kids. They quickly establish a relationship. Bel is entangled in a bitter battle with her ex-husband for the custody of her children. Jaime buys an apartment and asks Bel to marry him, but she turns him down. They are two free spirits, getting married would condemn their relationship to failure. Overwhelmed by the events, Jaime loses himself in the night and gets drunk. That same night, Bel dies in a tragic accident. When he hears the news, Jaime, in despair, tries to take his own life. He manages to get back on his feet with the support of friends and family. However, Jaime will never write poetry again. At the beginning of the 1970s, Jaime goes to the Philippines and has to deal with the economic changes which the company is going through under Ferdinand Marcos's dictatorship.
On his return, Jaime meets Toni, a young assistant of photography of humble background, and they begin a sentimental relationship. In spite of his class awareness, he seems to be attracted to men of lower background. Toni, for his part, insists on learning all he can from Jaime and asks him to introduce him into his sophisticated world. One day, at the beach with Tony and some friends, Jaime is move to tears watching the freshness of a girl dancing with Tony. As a middle-aged poet, Jaime is painfully aware of the passage of time, his misspent youth, and the death that patiently awaits him. He writes in a poem: "What do you want now, youth, you impudent delight of life?," "What brings you to the beach? We old ones were content until you came along to wound us by reviving the most fearful of impossible dreams. You come to rummage through our imaginations."
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