The Year of Maria
The Year of Maria (Spanish: Año mariano) is a 2000 Spanish black comedy film directed by Karra Elejalde and Fernando Guillén Cuervo, who also star in the film alongside Manuel Manquiña, Gloria Muñoz, and Sílvia Bel.
| The Year of Maria | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Spanish | Año mariano |
| Directed by | |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Produced by | Juanjo Landa |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Hans Burmann |
| Edited by | Pablo Blanco |
| Music by | Kike Suárez Alba |
Production company | Asegarce Zinema |
| Distributed by | Aurum Films |
Release date |
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| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
Plot
Mariano, an alcoholic cassette salesman, crashes on a marijuana plantation being burned by Guardia Civil agents, so dazed and hallucinated by narcotics, he sees the Virgin Mary. With help from a middling showman (Tony Towers) he becomes a messianic figure in rural southern Spain.[1][2]
Cast
- Karra Elejalde as Mariano[3]
- Fernando Guillén Cuervo as Antonio Torres (Tony Towers)[3]
- Manuel Manquiña as sargento Pablo Talavera[3]
- Gloria Muñoz as sor Trini[3]
- Sílvia Bel as María Vélez[4]
- Fernando Guillén as don Simón
- Juan Viadas as don Javier[4]
- Pepín Tre as Hopper[3]
- Karlos Arguiñano as Viriato[5]
Production
The film was produced by Asegarce with the collaboration of TVE, Vía Digital, and ETB.[4] Shooting locations in the province of Almería included Cala Carbón (Níjar).[6]
Release
Distributed by Aurum,[4] the film was released theatrically in Spain on 11 August 2000.[7] It was the second-largest grossing Spanish film at the 2000 domestic box-office after Common Wealth.[8]
Reception
Jonathan Holland of Variety deemed the film (otherwise stylistically a baby brother to Juanma Bajo Ulloa's Airbag), to be "at worst sloppy and uncontrolled, at best nicely imaginative".[4]
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 15th Goya Awards | Best Special Effects | Juan Ramón Molina, Alfonso Nieto | Nominated | [9] |
See also
References
- Fernández-Santos, Elsa (16 November 2000). "Alucinados". El País.
- Bernárdez, García & González 2008, p. 132.
- "Año mariano". Fotogramas. 29 May 2008.
- Holland, Jonathan (18 September 2000). "The Year of Maria". Variety.
- "Cine en TV por Federico Marín Bellón". ABC. 28 April 2007.
- "Níjar, el municipio con el plató de cine más natural de Andalucía". Diario de Almería. Grupo Joly. 25 March 2022.
- "'Año mariano', la película española más taquillera del año". El Mundo.
- Bernárdez, Asunción; García, Irene; González, Soraya (2008). Violencia de género en el cine español. Análisis de los años 1998 a 2002 y guía didáctica (PDF). Madrid: Editorial Complutense. p. 13. ISBN 978-84-7491-923-3.
- "Año Mariano". premiosgoya.com. Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. Retrieved 3 June 2023.