Alatriste
Encyclopedia
Alatriste is a 2006 Spanish
historical film directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes
, based on the main character of a series of novels written by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
, The Adventures of Captain Alatriste
.
The film, which stars Viggo Mortensen
, is the second most expensive Spanish-language
film ever made in Spain (about €24 million – US$30 million); only preceded by Agora
. It portrays Spain of the 17th century using both fictional and real characters. Twentieth Century Fox has bought the rights to the film.
. Diego Alatriste is a soldier in the service of King Felipe IV, during the Eighty Years War. The story begins in the Netherlands, where the tercio
of Diego Alatriste fights against the Dutch during the Dutch Revolt
. Lope Balboa (father of Íñigo and friend of the captain) is killed here. Diego decides to return to Madrid where he receives the young Íñigo Balboa in his care. He is hired, along with a Sicilian assassin named Gualterio Malatesta to kill the Prince of Wales
(future King Charles I of England) and his companion, the Duke of Buckingham
. The job is contracted by Emilio Bocanegra and Luis de Alquézar (uncle of Íñigo's love interest - Angélica de Alquézar). Alatriste finally returns to the Netherlands in 1624 (although the movie says it's 1625) and participates in the final battles leading to Breda's surrender. After the return to Spain, Íñigo wants to elope with Angélica, but she gets cold feet at the last moment. Alatriste has a romance with actress María de Castro, who was the lover of Philip IV and he ends up crossing swords with Gualdamedina, a friend of the king. In the end, the object of their attention gets sick with syphilis. The duel with his friend Martín Saldaña and the punishment of Íñigo in the galleys are part of the film's spectacular ending. The last scenes are at the Battle of Rocroi
(May 1643), described in the last book of the long and entertaining saga The Adventures of Captain Alatriste
, a book that has not been published as of 2008. During the battle Abel Moreno Gómez's "La Madrugá" is playing as the defeated army's march and this is where it is assumed that the old Captain Diego Alatriste dies.
The plot of the film has elements from each of the five books published up to the premiere, and it maintains the same storyline for the main characters. It includes excerpts from the future books of the saga. If the movie plot coincides with the desire of the author it should all end in Rocroi thus leaving enough material for three more books.
Antonio Resines
, originally slated to appear as Saldaña, almost retired from the entire movie due to a traffic accident; however, he makes a cameo appearance
in the Battle of Rocroi
as a musketeer
officer.
The film was released on 1 September 2006.
, are Spain
's main national film awards, considered the Spanish equivalent to the American Academy Awards
. The film was awarded and nominated for the following categories of Goya Awards for 2006 films:
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
historical film directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes
Agustín Díaz Yanes
Agustín Díaz Yanes is a Spanish Goya Awards winner screenwriter and film director.- Screenwriter :* Al límite * Belmonte * Demasiado corazón * A solas contigo * Baton Rouge * Barrios altos...
, based on the main character of a series of novels written by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
Arturo Pérez-Reverte
Arturo Pérez-Reverte Gutiérrez is a Spanish novelist and journalist. He worked as a war correspondent for twenty-one years . His first novel, El húsar, set in the Napoleonic Wars, was released in 1986. He is well known outside Spain for his "Alatriste" series of novels...
, The Adventures of Captain Alatriste
Captain Alatriste
Captain Alatriste is a series of novels by Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte. It deals with the adventures of the title character, a Spanish soldier living in the 17th century.-Series:...
.
The film, which stars Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. is a Danish-American actor, poet, musician, photographer and painter. He made his film debut in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness, and subsequently appeared in many notable films of the 1990s, including The Indian Runner , Carlito's Way , Crimson Tide , Daylight , The...
, is the second most expensive Spanish-language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
film ever made in Spain (about €24 million – US$30 million); only preceded by Agora
Agora (film)
Agora is a 2009 Spanish historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar and written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil. The biopic stars Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, a female mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in 4th century Roman Egypt who investigates the flaws of the geocentric Ptolemaic system...
. It portrays Spain of the 17th century using both fictional and real characters. Twentieth Century Fox has bought the rights to the film.
Plot
The story takes place during the 17th century in the Spanish EmpireSpanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
. Diego Alatriste is a soldier in the service of King Felipe IV, during the Eighty Years War. The story begins in the Netherlands, where the tercio
Tercio
The tercio was a Renaissance era military formation made up of a mixed infantry formation of about 3,000 pikemen, swordsmen and arquebusiers or musketeers in a mutually supportive formation. It was also sometimes referred to as the Spanish Square...
of Diego Alatriste fights against the Dutch during the Dutch Revolt
Dutch Revolt
The Dutch Revolt or the Revolt of the Netherlands This article adopts 1568 as the starting date of the war, as this was the year of the first battles between armies. However, since there is a long period of Protestant vs...
. Lope Balboa (father of Íñigo and friend of the captain) is killed here. Diego decides to return to Madrid where he receives the young Íñigo Balboa in his care. He is hired, along with a Sicilian assassin named Gualterio Malatesta to kill the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
(future King Charles I of England) and his companion, the Duke of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham
The titles Marquess and Duke of Buckingham, referring to Buckingham, have been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been Earls of Buckingham.-1444 creation:...
. The job is contracted by Emilio Bocanegra and Luis de Alquézar (uncle of Íñigo's love interest - Angélica de Alquézar). Alatriste finally returns to the Netherlands in 1624 (although the movie says it's 1625) and participates in the final battles leading to Breda's surrender. After the return to Spain, Íñigo wants to elope with Angélica, but she gets cold feet at the last moment. Alatriste has a romance with actress María de Castro, who was the lover of Philip IV and he ends up crossing swords with Gualdamedina, a friend of the king. In the end, the object of their attention gets sick with syphilis. The duel with his friend Martín Saldaña and the punishment of Íñigo in the galleys are part of the film's spectacular ending. The last scenes are at the Battle of Rocroi
Battle of Rocroi
The Battle of Rocroi was fought on 19 May 1643, late in the Thirty Years' War. It resulted in a victory of the French army under the Duc d'Enghien, against the Spanish army under General Francisco de Melo.-Prelude:...
(May 1643), described in the last book of the long and entertaining saga The Adventures of Captain Alatriste
Captain Alatriste
Captain Alatriste is a series of novels by Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte. It deals with the adventures of the title character, a Spanish soldier living in the 17th century.-Series:...
, a book that has not been published as of 2008. During the battle Abel Moreno Gómez's "La Madrugá" is playing as the defeated army's march and this is where it is assumed that the old Captain Diego Alatriste dies.
The plot of the film has elements from each of the five books published up to the premiere, and it maintains the same storyline for the main characters. It includes excerpts from the future books of the saga. If the movie plot coincides with the desire of the author it should all end in Rocroi thus leaving enough material for three more books.
Cast
- Viggo MortensenViggo MortensenViggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. is a Danish-American actor, poet, musician, photographer and painter. He made his film debut in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness, and subsequently appeared in many notable films of the 1990s, including The Indian Runner , Carlito's Way , Crimson Tide , Daylight , The...
as Captain Diego Alatriste - Javier CámaraJavier CámaraJavier Cámara is a Spanish actor, most notably in the Pedro Almodóvar films Talk to Her and Bad Education , and the television series 7 Vidas ....
as the Count-Duke of Olivares - Eduardo NoriegaEduardo Noriega (Spanish actor)Eduardo Noriega Gómez is a Spanish film actor, perhaps best known for his roles in two Alejandro Amenábar films, the multiple Goya Award-winning Tesis and Open Your Eyes . He also starred in The Wolf...
as the Count of Guadalmedina - Juan EchanoveJuan Echanove-Selected filmography:*Manolete *Alatriste .*Bienvenido a casa *Morir en San Hilario .*Los Reyes Magos - voz - .*Sin noticias de Dios...
as the writer Francisco de QuevedoFrancisco de QuevedoFrancisco Gómez de Quevedo y Santibáñez Villegas was a Spanish nobleman, politician and writer of the Baroque era. Along with his lifelong rival, Luis de Góngora, Quevedo was one of the most prominent Spanish poets of the age. His style is characterized by what was called conceptismo... - Unax UgaldeUnax UgaldeUnax Ugalde Gutiérrez is a Spanish actor born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Basque Country.-Biography:Unax Ugalde, son of a worker at the Altos Hornos and a housewife, was born in 1978 in Vitoria-Gasteiz. While, as a student, he ambitioned to become a marine scientist, started taking classes...
as Íñigo de Balboa, Alatriste's Basque squireSquireThe English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"... - Elena AnayaElena AnayaElena Anaya is a Spanish actress whose career dates back to 1995.Anaya is the youngest of 5 children. She first received international attention in 2001 for her role in the sexually explicit drama Lucía y el sexo and also appeared in Pedro Almodóvar's Hable con ella .Her best-known Hollywood film...
as Angélica de Alquézar, a teenaged femme fataleFemme fataleA femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art... - Ariadna GilAriadna GilAriadna Gil i Giner is a Spanish actress. She is known for her expressive acting in films such as Belle Époque or Lagrimas Negras.-Career:Bigas Luna discovered her for the 1986 movie Lola...
as María de Castro - Francesc Garrido as policeman Saldaña
- Blanca PortilloBlanca Portillo-Career:Portillo started as an actress in several small theater productions before graduating in drama from the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramatico....
as the inquisitorInquisitorAn inquisitor was an official in an Inquisition, an organisation or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things frowned on by the Roman Catholic Church...
fray Emilio Bocanegra - Paco Tous as Francisco de MeloFrancisco de MeloDon Francisco de Melo was a Portuguese nobleman and general.-Biography:de Melo was born at Estremoz, in Portugal....
Antonio Resines
Antonio Resines
Antonio Fernández Resines is an award-winning Spanish film and television actor.- Selected filmography :*La dama boba .*Otros días vendrán ....
, originally slated to appear as Saldaña, almost retired from the entire movie due to a traffic accident; however, he makes a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the Battle of Rocroi
Battle of Rocroi
The Battle of Rocroi was fought on 19 May 1643, late in the Thirty Years' War. It resulted in a victory of the French army under the Duc d'Enghien, against the Spanish army under General Francisco de Melo.-Prelude:...
as a musketeer
Musketeer
A musketeer was an early modern type of infantry soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern armies, particularly in Europe. They sometimes could fight on horseback, like a dragoon or a cavalryman...
officer.
The film was released on 1 September 2006.
Awards and nominations
The Goya AwardsGoya Awards
The Goya Awards, known in Spanish as los Premios Goya, are Spain's main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards....
, are Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
's main national film awards, considered the Spanish equivalent to the American Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. The film was awarded and nominated for the following categories of Goya Awards for 2006 films:
| Category (Spanish name) |
Actor/Actress | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Best Film (Mejor película) |
Nominated | |
| Best Lead Actor (Mejor actor Principal) |
Viggo Mortensen Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. is a Danish-American actor, poet, musician, photographer and painter. He made his film debut in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness, and subsequently appeared in many notable films of the 1990s, including The Indian Runner , Carlito's Way , Crimson Tide , Daylight , The... |
Nominated |
| Best Supporting Actor (Mejor actor de reparto) |
Juan Echanove Juan Echanove -Selected filmography:*Manolete *Alatriste .*Bienvenido a casa *Morir en San Hilario .*Los Reyes Magos - voz - .*Sin noticias de Dios... |
Nominated |
| Best Supporting Actress (Mejor actriz de reparto) |
Ariadna Gil Ariadna Gil Ariadna Gil i Giner is a Spanish actress. She is known for her expressive acting in films such as Belle Époque or Lagrimas Negras.-Career:Bigas Luna discovered her for the 1986 movie Lola... |
Nominated |
| Best Screenplay (Mejor guión adaptado) |
Agustín Díaz Yanes Agustín Díaz Yanes Agustín Díaz Yanes is a Spanish Goya Awards winner screenwriter and film director.- Screenwriter :* Al límite * Belmonte * Demasiado corazón * A solas contigo * Baton Rouge * Barrios altos... |
Nominated |
| Best Direction (Mejor director) |
Agustín Díaz Yanes Agustín Díaz Yanes Agustín Díaz Yanes is a Spanish Goya Awards winner screenwriter and film director.- Screenwriter :* Al límite * Belmonte * Demasiado corazón * A solas contigo * Baton Rouge * Barrios altos... |
Nominated |
| Best Production Supervision (Mejor dirección de producción) |
Cristina Zumárraga | Winner |
| Best Musical Score (Mejor música original) |
Roque Baños Roque Baños Roque Baños is a Spanish music composer. He received the Goya Award for Best Original Score in 2008.-Education:... |
Nominated |
| Best Production Design (Mejor dirección artística) |
Benjamín Fernández | Winner |
| Best Costume Design (Mejor diseño de vestuario) |
Francesca Sartori | Winner |
| Best Cinematography (Mejor fotografía) |
Paco Femenia | Nominated |
| Best Editing (Mejor montaje) |
José Salgado | Nominated |
| Best Make-Up and Hairstyles (Mejor maquillaje y peluquería) |
José Luis Pérez José Luis Pérez José Luis Pérez is a Mexican equestrian. He was born in Tonalá, Jalisco. He won a bronze medal in team eventing at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He also competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics.-References:... |
Nominated |
| Best Sound (Mejor sonido) |
Pierre Gamet | Nominated |
| Best Special Effects (Mejores efectos especiales) |
Reyes Abades Rafael Solorzano |
Nominated |