Product Details

• Actors: Fernando Fernan Gomez, Rafael Alonso, Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, Fernando Guillén
• Directors: José Luis Garci
• Format: NTSC, Import, Dolby, Subtitled
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B0017K2HNU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,818 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

SYNOPSIS: Rodrigo de Arista (Fernando Fernan-Gomez) is an elderly Spanish gentleman who went to the United States in hopes of cashing in on the gold rush, but returned to Northern Spain with very little to show for his efforts. He discovers upon his arrival that his son has died, leaving behind a wife, Lucrecia (Cayetana Guillen-Cuervo) and two daughters. However, a note from his late son informs Rodrigo that he fathered one of the children, but the other is a bastard that his wife conceived in an adulterous relationship with a French painter. Rodrigo is determined to find out which of the two children is his real granddaughter; his relationship with Lucrecia, which was never cordial, is now strained even further when she realizes that Rodrigo knows her secret and could destroy her reputation in the small town that she calls home. Rodrigo is aided in his search for the truth by Pio Coronado (Rafael Alonso), an old friend who also tutors the two children. El Abuelo received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1999; it was also nominated for 13 Goya Awards, Spain's leading prize for excellence in filmmaking, with Fernando Fernan-Gomez taking home the trophy for Best Actor.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A genuine masterpiece!, December 22, 2010

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: El Abuelo (The Grandfather) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America] (DVD)

Based on a Benito Perez Galdos' play, El abuelo (The grandfather) deals about the return to Spain of the Count Arbeit (Fernando Fernan Gomez in one of his most arresting performances of his succesful career)from USA trying to find a place into the great promise of the Big Dream without achieving less than nothing. He returnms to the village where his only family resides: his daughter in law and his lovable two grand daughters.

But there are powerful secrets that involve this family, concerning with the lost honor, the unfaithfulness and additionally the dramatic confrontations with the people of this village. Servility, envy, hypocrisy and the double moral are some of the showy virtues that label this community. A true wall of ingratitude and resentments that will maintain, nurture and accent still more the notable discrepancies.

Arresting images, sumptuous photography and the superb performances of Fernando Fernan Gomez and Agustin Gonzalez make of this film a true revelation finding and undoubtedly one of the films of the Nineties.

A true filmic gem!