800 Bullets
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800 Bullets (Spanish: 800 balas) is a 2002 Spanish film directed and produced by Álex de la Iglesia, who jointly penned it alongside Jorge Guerricaechevarría. The cast features Sancho Gracia, Ángel de Andrés, Carmen Maura, Eusebio Poncela, Terele Pávez and Luis Castro, among others. The film, a tribute to Spanish stuntmen who worked in Spaghetti Westerns, features similarities to Spielbergian Oedipal melodramas.
Plot
Julián Torralba is a former film stuntman in Almeria, Spain. He and several of his colleagues, who once made a living in American Westerns shot in Spain, now are reduced to doing stunt shows for minuscule audiences on the decaying set built for those old Westerns. Julián wrestles with dark memories of the death of his son, also a stuntman, and with estrangement from his daughter-in-law Laura and her son Carlos.
Carlos, a young boy, becomes intrigued with his late father's life and runs away to join Julián and his band of has-beens. There Carlos is initiated into the rambunctious life of these hard-drinking faux cowboys. But when Laura, a powerful executive looking for a new site for a tourist resort, learns that Carlos has joined the hated Julián, she moves to destroy even this remnant of Julián's once-proud career. Julián and the cowboys decide to fight back the only way they know how.
Cast
- Sancho Gracia as Julián.
- Ángel de Andrés López as Cheyenne.
- Carmen Maura as Laura.
- Eusebio Poncela as Scott.
- Luis Castro as Carlos.
- Terele Pávez as Rocío.
- Enrique Martínez[es] as Arrastrado.
- Luciano Federico as Enterrador.
- Ramón Barea as Don Mariano.
- Manuel Tallafé[es] as Manuel.
- Gracia Olayo as Juli.
- Cesáreo Estébanez[es] as Andrés.
- Eduardo Gómez as Ahorcado.
- Eduardo Antuña as Taxista.
- Berta Ojea[es] as Ángeles.
- Ane Gabarain as Jacinta.
- Yoima Valdés as Sonia.
- Alfonso Torregrosa as Jefe Policía.
- Juan Viadas as Monitor.
- Juanjo Legamiz as Camarero.
Production
Produced by Pánico Films, 800 Bullets was shot in the province of Almería. Shooting locations included the Paseo de Almería, the Calle Reina Regente (both in the provincial capital, Almería), Santa María del Águila (El Ejido), Las Salinillas (Gádor-Gérgal-Rioja- Tabernas), Garganta de Alfaro (Rioja) and the Poblado estudio Fort Bravo-Texas Hollywood (Tabernas). The film had a budget of around €5 million.
Release
The film had its world premiere on 11 October 2002 at the Sitges Film Festival (FICC), making its domestic theatrical release a week later, on 18 October. The film performed bad at the box office, becoming one of the economic blunders in 2002 Spanish cinema, grossing less than €2 million.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 17th Goya Awards | Best Actor | Sancho Gracia | Nominated | |
| Best Original Score | Roque Baños | Nominated | |||
| Best Editing | Alejandro Lázaro | Nominated | |||
| Best Special Effects | Juan Ramón Molina, Félix Bergés, Rafael Solórzano | Won |
See also
Bibliography
- Alonso García, Luis (2003). (PDF). Ikusgaiak. 6. San Sebastián: 177–236. ISSN .
- Peña Sevilla, Jesús de la (2009). (PDF). Academia. Revista del Cine Español (158). Madrid: Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España: 17–19. ISSN .
- Buse, Peter; Triana Toribio, Núria; Willis, Andy (2007). The cinema of Álex de la Iglesia. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719071362.
External links
- at IMDb