User Reviews

You should know that this film is the first part of two films: "Valentina" and "1919 -Cronica del alba" (released the following year in 1983), based on Ramon J Sender's novel "Cronica del alba" written in exile. Both films begin with the end of the novel (so I am not spoiling anything) the context is 1939 when Spanish Republican refugees crossed the French border, many to be sent to the concentration camps on the beaches. The protagonist of the story dies there, the author of the book survived, and both entertained through their narratives. The first film recalls Pepe's memories: his childhood pranks, his respect for his mentor, and his crush for Valentina in 1911. The second film is set eight years later, 1919, and shows the birth of a Republican conscience, taking us up to 1936-39.

This Spanish picture is an agreeable story with an interesting characterizing about a few characters , drama , romance , and colorful scenarios . In 1939, in a French prison camp, José Garcés of the defeated Spanish Republican army raises the spirits of his fellow prisoners by telling some own tales , and his colleague and narrator (Eusebio Poncela) sets out to find an adult Valentina (Maria Rubio) . As he tells the story of becoming a man in 1919, the year he realized that learning to live is the same as learning to die. Set in a village in a lower Aragon , northeastern Spain . The year he was 8 years old, 1911, in a small village lives Pepe Garcés (Jorge Sanz) , Ramón J. Sender's alter ego . He is a rascal, and roguish little boy , dealing with his relationships to his parents (Saturno Cerra , Conchita Leza) and love for Valentina (Paloma Cela) . On his roof top at night he sends semaphore messages to her. He writes poems and becomes a poet . He gets them into trouble, killing her daddy Don Arturo (Alfred Lucchetti) 's breeding pigeons . Shortly after , the two families camp at a decaying castle, and his preceptor , a likeable priest (Anthony Quinn) teaches him some brooding issues , around life , as well as Maths , Pitágoras theory and anything else . Already a Young , he learns a lesson about being a hero.

The film starts in 1939 with José Garcés is in French prison camp after the defeat of Spain's Republicans to entertain and inspire his fellow prisoners, as he tells tought-provoking stories. This is first agreement between TVE (Spanish Televisión) and national production to shoot films based on contemporary novels of the Spanish literature. This one is based on ¨Crónica del Alba¨ by Ramon J. Sander , being divided in two parts : ¨Valentina¨ and ¨1919¨ , being realized both in similar artistic and technician team .The film contains human drama , emotion , amusing events , complemented with a feeling loving story . These elements provide the setting for this piece of dramatic deeds , giving it its own special quality and ambient . In addition , there are brief exploration about way of life of a little town . There stands out the enjoyable interpretation , atmospheric photograpy and evocative production design by Felix Murcia . Starring Jorge Sanz gives a good acting as Pepe the mischievous kid baffling his father, always in trouble, and in love with Valentina : Paloma Gómez , his neighbor girl and cousin . In real life Jorge Sanz and Paloma Gómez married and , recently , Paloma Gómez sadly passed away . And extraordinary Anthony Quinn as a sympathetic priest who tells him about the most valiant men, the saints, the heroes, and the poets .

It displays a colorful and evocative cinematography by Juan Ruiz Anchia , though being really necessary a perfect remasterizing . Anchia has been making a prestigious career in Hollywood , such as Close range , House of game and River runs black , here he shows splendidly the impressive landscapes .Including filming locations as Guadalajara, Castilla-La Mancha, Teruel, Aragón , Zaragoza, Aragón . Sensitive and emotive musical score by Riz Ortalani , with a catching but extremily repeated leitmotif. The motion picture was well directed by Antonio Jose Betancort (1942-2006) who was born and died in Tenerife , Islas Canarias . He was a good filmmaker , little prolific , he wrote ¨Los Dias del pasado¨ by Mario Camus , only directed the following ones : his film debut , ¨Sentados al borde del mañana con los pies colgando¨ with Miguel Bosé , ¨Valentina¨ with Anthony Quinn , its following ¨1919 Cronica Del Alba¨ . 15 years after , he made ¨Mararia¨ in his natal region, Tenerife , Canary islands . And TV episodes for series as ¨Juglar y Reina¨ and ¨Paisaje Con Figuras¨ . Rating : 7 , better than average , worthwhile watching .

Valentina is a film that touches the heart without degenerating into a sappy melodrama. It follows a free-spirited rascal growing up in Spain who falls in love with Valentina, a daughter in a family that's friends with his. The actors who portray these two children do an excellent job, as does Anthony Quinn as the priest who is seemingly the only adult who can communicate with the young boy. Betancor does an excellent job in capturing the innocence of youth and the purity of childhood infatuations. The only problem I have with it is that it ends very abruptly when a more suitable ending would have made this a perfect film. Despite the abrupt ending, this is one of the best films I've watched and I highly recommend it to everybody.