El Crimen del Capitán Sánchez
Encyclopedia
Captain Sánchez’s Crime is a 1985 Spanish
drama film, made for TV in 16 mm and directed by Vicente Aranda
. It stars Fernado Guillén, Victoria Abril
and José Cerro. The film is based on a real crime which occurred in Madrid in 1913.
, 1913. Manuel Sánchez, a widower with six children and an elderly father, struggles to support his large family with his meager salary as member of the Spanish army. His passion for gambling does not help his dire circumstances. Manuel's eldest daughter, Maria Luisa, works ironing in a factory. Father and daughter supplement their income skimming out money and jewelry from unsuspected men who they trap in a relationship with the daughter in order to demand money to repair her honor.
Father and daughter also have an incestuous relationship that has been going on for years. While at the casino in the company of his father, Maria Luisa meets Rodrigo Garcia Jalón, a rich old widower. Jalón, who is also a gambler, is smitten by Maria Luisa and begins to entice the young man into a relationship with him. He offers to provide for her generously if she becomes his lover. Maria Luisa sees the possibility of a life of freedom away from the tight rule of his father. She gleefully accepts Jalón's attention. When Captain Sánchez realizes what going on between the widower and Maria Luisa, he convinces his daughter to trap Jalón in one of their skims and blackmail him for a large amount of money. Following that plan, Maria Luisa invites his paramour to her house pretending to be alone. Captain Sánchez is hiding, waiting to trap the unsuspected Jalón. All is happening according to plan, but when the captain overhears the sincere love confession of Jalón for his daughter asking to marry him, he becomes outraged. In a fit of jealousy, the Captain grasps an ax and savagely kills Jalón. The hit of the ax beheads the body.
The captain throws the severed head into the fire and hides the mutilated body on the cellar behind a wall. Maria Luisa, meanwhile, cleans the crime scene. They gained little money from the crime, but a ring Jalón was wearing and a token from the casino for a large amount of money. The disappearance of Jalón causes intrigue among the people who knew him, particularly at the casino, where is a fact well known that he has not claimed the money from his gambling wins. Not very wisely, Maria Luisa goes to the casino trying to catch out the token, which immediately makes her a suspect. When the police come to search her house, they find the mutilated body hidden behind a wall in the cellar.Father and daughter are arrested.
Maria Luisa, who initially denied any knowledge of the crime, later recants her story implicating his father. She also accuses him of sexually abusing her for many years. They had two children together who died shortly after birth. Captain Sánchez also talks against her daughter proclaiming his innocent, but he says the dishonor his daughter has brought upon him is more than he can bear and ask for the death penalty.
During the trial, lawyers of daughter and father blamed each other. The captain is condemned to death and Maria Luisa is sentenced to 30 years in jail. After Captain Sánchez is executed in an open field, Maria Luisa receives the rosary his father held up to the end. A title informs viewers that she eventually lost her sanity and died in prison twelve years after her father.
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...
drama film, made for TV in 16 mm and directed by Vicente Aranda
Vicente Aranda
Vicente Aranda , is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Due to his refined and personal style, he is one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a founded member of the Barcelona School of Film and became known for bringing contemporary Spanish novels to life on the...
. It stars Fernado Guillén, Victoria Abril
Victoria Abril
Victoria Abril is a Spanish film actress. She is best known to international audiences for her performance in the movie ¡Átame! by director Pedro Almodóvar....
and José Cerro. The film is based on a real crime which occurred in Madrid in 1913.
Plot
MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, 1913. Manuel Sánchez, a widower with six children and an elderly father, struggles to support his large family with his meager salary as member of the Spanish army. His passion for gambling does not help his dire circumstances. Manuel's eldest daughter, Maria Luisa, works ironing in a factory. Father and daughter supplement their income skimming out money and jewelry from unsuspected men who they trap in a relationship with the daughter in order to demand money to repair her honor.
Father and daughter also have an incestuous relationship that has been going on for years. While at the casino in the company of his father, Maria Luisa meets Rodrigo Garcia Jalón, a rich old widower. Jalón, who is also a gambler, is smitten by Maria Luisa and begins to entice the young man into a relationship with him. He offers to provide for her generously if she becomes his lover. Maria Luisa sees the possibility of a life of freedom away from the tight rule of his father. She gleefully accepts Jalón's attention. When Captain Sánchez realizes what going on between the widower and Maria Luisa, he convinces his daughter to trap Jalón in one of their skims and blackmail him for a large amount of money. Following that plan, Maria Luisa invites his paramour to her house pretending to be alone. Captain Sánchez is hiding, waiting to trap the unsuspected Jalón. All is happening according to plan, but when the captain overhears the sincere love confession of Jalón for his daughter asking to marry him, he becomes outraged. In a fit of jealousy, the Captain grasps an ax and savagely kills Jalón. The hit of the ax beheads the body.
The captain throws the severed head into the fire and hides the mutilated body on the cellar behind a wall. Maria Luisa, meanwhile, cleans the crime scene. They gained little money from the crime, but a ring Jalón was wearing and a token from the casino for a large amount of money. The disappearance of Jalón causes intrigue among the people who knew him, particularly at the casino, where is a fact well known that he has not claimed the money from his gambling wins. Not very wisely, Maria Luisa goes to the casino trying to catch out the token, which immediately makes her a suspect. When the police come to search her house, they find the mutilated body hidden behind a wall in the cellar.Father and daughter are arrested.
Maria Luisa, who initially denied any knowledge of the crime, later recants her story implicating his father. She also accuses him of sexually abusing her for many years. They had two children together who died shortly after birth. Captain Sánchez also talks against her daughter proclaiming his innocent, but he says the dishonor his daughter has brought upon him is more than he can bear and ask for the death penalty.
During the trial, lawyers of daughter and father blamed each other. The captain is condemned to death and Maria Luisa is sentenced to 30 years in jail. After Captain Sánchez is executed in an open field, Maria Luisa receives the rosary his father held up to the end. A title informs viewers that she eventually lost her sanity and died in prison twelve years after her father.
Production
El Crimen del Capitán Sánchez (Captain Sánchez's Crime) was developed as part of La Huella del Crimen (The trace of the crime), a Spanish TV series depicting infamous crimes happened in Spain, for which famous Spanish film directors where invited to make an episode in 16 mm. It was made in in 1984..Cast
- Fernando GuillénFernando GuillénFernando Guillén was a Spanish Olympic fencer. He competed in the individual and team sabre events at the 1924 Summer Olympics.-References:...
- Capitán Sánchez - Victoria AbrilVictoria AbrilVictoria Abril is a Spanish film actress. She is best known to international audiences for her performance in the movie ¡Átame! by director Pedro Almodóvar....
- Maria Luisa - Maribel VerdúMaribel VerdúMaribel Verdú is a Spanish actress. She is known to English-speaking audiences for playing Luisa in the 2001 film Y tu mamá también and Mercedes in Guillermo del Toro's 2006 film Pan's Labyrinth. In Spain she is known for films such as Belle Époque, Tetro, and Huevos de oro.Verdú was born María...
- Manuelita - José Cerro - Jalón
- Pep Munné - lover
Awards and nominations
- Nominated, Fotogramas de Plata: Best Actress in leading role for T.V ( Victoria Abril) 1985)