The Grandfather (1998 film)
| El abuelo | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | José Luis Garci |
| Produced by | José Luis Garci |
| Written by | José Luis Garci Horacio Valcárcel |
| Starring |
Fernando Fernán-Gómez Rafael Alonso Cayetana Guillén Cuervo Agustín González Cristina Cruz Mínguez Alicia Rozas |
| Music by | Manuel Balboa |
| Cinematography | Raúl Pérez Cubero |
| Edited by | Miguel González Sinde |
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Release date
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Running time
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151 minutes |
| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
The Grandfather (Spanish: El abuelo) is a 1998 Spanish drama film written, produced and directed by José Luis Garci. It stars Fernando Fernán-Gómez, Cayetana Guillén Cuervo and Rafael Alonso. The film, an adaptation of the novel of the same title by Benito Pérez Galdós, tells the story of an aristocrat's search to discover which of his two putative granddaughters resulted from an extramarital affair by his daughter-in-law.
Don Rodrigo, Count of Albrit, an old Spanish aristocrat, returns to turn-of-the-20th-century Spain after losing his fortune in America. The death of his only son has made him come back to his family estate, now in possession of his daughter-in-law Lucrecia. Upon his return, Don Rodrigo is pleased to meet his granddaughters, Dolly and Nelly, both of whom are adorable and attentive towards him. However, there is something nagging Don Rodrigo.
His son died heartbroken after he discovered his wife was having an affair with a Parisian painter and he left a letter stating that one of the girls is an illegitimate child, not of his blood, and therefore not entitled to be his true heir or true successor to his name and country estate. To the Count of Albrit, it is a matter of honor to know which of the girls is his real granddaughter. To uncover the truth, he confronts his son's widow, Lucrecia.
Lucrecia, now 32, is an English-born beauty with a scandalous reputation, who married the Count’s son when she was 18 and was unfaithful to her husband during their marriage, having an affair with a Parisian painter. Confronting her, the Count of Albrit, who opposed the match, tells her she killed his son, who died of sadness, loneliness, and shame brought on by her infidelity. Lucrecia replies that life is complicated, as are the emotions between men and women. In any case, she vehemently refuses to discuss the matter of her daughter’s paternity.
Lucrecia is well connected. Her latest liaison with Jaime, a government minister, has benefited the village in which her lands lie. When she sees her family relationships and a future move from the provinces to Madrid threatened, she tries to use her standing with the town’s authorities and the local clergy to thwart the old man in his quest. Their plan is to have the Count of Albrit confined in a nearby monastery, but the still-formidable Don Rodrigo quickly realizes their intentions and manages to escape their trap. He reminds some of the smarmy villagers of their checkered past in the days when the Count of Albrit was a power to be reckoned with.
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