Viggo Mortensen - Alatriste (2006) - Page 10

**Jazz** · 03-06-2007, 07:05 AM

This is an Egyptian Theatre Exclusive!

Presented in collaboration with the Instituto de la Cinematograf�*a y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA) of the Spanish Ministry of Culture, EGEDEA and the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade, ICEX and Consulate General of Spain in Los Angeles.

Saturday, March 17 - 7:30 PM

ALATRISTE, 2006, 135 min. Dir. Agustin Diaz Yanes. Viggo Mortensen (THE LORD OF THE RINGS, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) stars as the brooding, irresistible Captain Alatriste, 17th century soldier, mercenary and lover, in this superb adaptation of the historical novel by Arturo Perez-Reverte. The plot twists and turns like a dark river, covering 20 years from the wars in Flanders to France - and along the way Alatriste crosses paths with characters real and fictional including actress Maria de Castro (Ariadna Gil, PAN’S LABYRINTH), the Count-Duke of Olivares (Javier Camara), poet Francisco de Quevedo (Juan Echanove) and others. The mournful heart of the film remains Mortensen, though, who performs all of his dialogue in fluent Spanish (he lived in Venezuela and Argentina as a youth). Nominated for 14 Goya Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. 2007 Goya Winner of Best Script, Best Art Direction, Best Costume.

**Jazz** · 03-27-2007, 10:50 AM

The premiere in Argentina on 28 March is at the Village Recoleta, Buenos Aires with another showing taking place at the Cinemark 8 Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires at the same time. Viggo has invited some of the San Lorenzo team to the premiere.

**Jazz** · 03-27-2007, 10:51 AM

Guadalajara fest opens

Event to bow with 'Vacation,' close with 'Elements'

By MICHAEL O'BOYLE

MEXICO CITY -- The 22nd Guadalajara Intl. Film Festival opens Thursday with Brazilian helmer Cao Hamburger's Berlin player "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" and closes March 30 with Dutch docu "4 Elements" by Jiska Rickles.

Mexican director Guillermo del Toro will be honored with the new Premio Guadalajara and other celebrities on hand will include helmer Costa Gavras, who will be the subject of a retrospective, as well as thesps Antonio Banderas, who will present his second go as a director "Summer Rain," and Viggo Mortensen, tubthumping his starring role in "Alatriste" by Diaz Yanes. Brazil is the featured country this year and fest will celebrate helmer Nelson Perreira dos Santos with a retrospective.

Official selections in competition include 16 features from Latin America, Spain and Portugal, 12 Mexican features, sixteen Ibero-American docus, a new competition for six Mexican docus, 19 Ibero-American shorts and 29 Mexican shorts. With out-of competition sidebars, some 220 features, docus and shorts will unspool during the fest.

Besides some $150,000 in competition prizes, other awards include $150,000 to $250,000 co-production stake from Spanish pubcaster RTVE that will be awarded to one of the 30 films jockeying in the fest's Ibero-American Film Co-Production Meeting, plus $175,000 worth of post-production services that will be awarded to winners picked from nine unfinished films shot in the region.

Mexican scribe Vicente Lenero ("El Crimen de Padre Amaro") will be honored with the fest's Mayahuel de Plata award.

Fest, considered one of the most important in Latin America, is under its second year of leadership of former producer and distributor Jorge Sanchez.
Besides pushing programming, Sanchez has raised the level of the fest's market as he seeks to make it the top industry event in Latin America.

**Jazz** · 03-27-2007, 10:56 AM

Alatriste DVD
By Svet Atanasov

The most expensive Spanish production to date, director Agustin Diaz Yanes' Alatriste (2006), certainly is a film to consider seriously. For a number of reasons!

Topping off an astronomical, for the Spanish film industry, budget of 28 million and teaming up every major Iberian actor you could think of next to sizzling American superstar Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings) Alatriste is a massive spectacle with top-notch production values.

Set in early 17th century this gritty buccaneer saga follows the life of legendary hero Captain Alatriste as described in the writings of Arturo Perez-Reverte.

The film opens up with a nasty ambush scene off the coast of Flandres (Flanders) where Alatriste saves the life of the Duke of Guadalmedina (Eduardo Noriega) with fellow warrior Balboa (Alex O'Dogherty). Alatriste's old friend however is fatally wounded. Before he dies he asks if the Captain would raise his son Inigo (Unax Ugalde).

In Spain Alatriste and the famous Italian mercenary Malatesta (Enrico Lo Verso) are paid to eliminate a mysterious duo of high-ranking visitors. When he refuses the Captain becomes a target for the merciless Bocanegra (Blanca Portillo) whose prominent role within the Inquisition creates plenty of problems.

To punish his disobedience the Count-Duke of Olivares (Javier Camara) sends Alatriste back to Flanders where the Spanish army is under siege.

It is difficult not to like what Agustin Diaz Yanes has created! Visually stunning and thematically well-sustained Alatriste delves deep into Spanish history and gets most everything right. The story relies on a excellent cast which as mentioned already gathers the crème de la crème of Spanish cinema.

The most curious figure in the film is of course American actor Viggo Mortensen who not only speaks fluent Spanish but sounds very impressive as well. I am not aware how Spanish audiences accepted his performance but as far as I am concerned Alatriste will have a great resonance amongst foreign film aficionados.

What truly transforms Alatriste into a great cinematic experience however is the near perfect balance between edge-of-your-seat action and convincing storytelling. The gritty battle scenes where special effects are plausibly ignored in favour of authentic action are simply outstanding (special accolades go to costume designer Francesca Sartori)! The story is built around superb characters whose many sides are revealed in a fashion Hollywood can only wish for!!

If there is anything that might partially frustrate foreign viewers unfamiliar with Spanish history it is perhaps the enormous emphasis Agustin Diaz Yanes and his cast have put on detail. Alatriste often combines an array of characters with unique stories that seem to overlap each other making it impossible for the viewer to keep track of the numerous events taking place on the screen. Regardless, this is one exceptionally well done production that will make fans of intelligent, in-your-face action, adventure-sagas very happy!

How Does the DVD Look?

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and enhanced for widescreen TVs this Spanish-produced disc is near perfect! Crystal-clear image, incredible contrast, excellent colour-reproduction, and a print that is virtually impossible to critique is what we have here. The anamorphic image is so strong that I felt like I could have used screen-caps from it all day long to produce nice wallpapers! Fox-Spain, the producers of this marvellous set, have indeed outdone themselves. Really, this disc is for those who wish to have a show-off DVD any time a friend comes over to visit. Impeccable!!!

How Does the DVD Sound?

In addition to the marvellous picture quality Fox have provided an equally stunning audio treatment. Presented with Catalan 2.0 and 5.1 tracks and a bombastic DTS mix the disc is what an audio-snob would hope for: a winner! I played with the 5.1 a bit but quickly switched to the DTS track once Alatriste was sent to Flanders. The action scenes, you have to believe me, are absolutely mind-blowing. There aren't any special effects here to truly give your system a workout but the natural sounds from the battle scenes are pure perfection. I enjoyed every single minute of this film and then some!! With optional white Catalan and English subtitles (my only gripe here is that the subs are a bit large for my taste...). PAL-encoded, Region-2.

Extras:

Since all of the extras on this 2DVD set are only in Spanish I am going to list them without making any comments. On disc one there is a commentary by the director of the film as well as the original theatrical trailer. On disc two you will find a great documentary by the National Geographic titled "El Madrid de Alatriste", the documentary "Cuenta lo que Fuimos", a gallery of stills, a gallery of deleted scenes, a Making-Of, and promotional gallery of trailers, TV spots, and press announcements.

Final Words:

You can certainly place me in the camp of those who had doubts that Viggo Mortensen could be a Spanish bushwhacker. And now you can take me right out of that camp and place me in the distant WOW-camp!! I have been wrong!!

I enjoyed Alatriste so much I saw it twice in one day, which is quite a gig as the film runs at approximately 150 minutes, and will likely see it again in the near future. The story, the acting, the music, the cinematography are all top-notch. Just what I did NOT expect!! Yes, there are a few minor flaws but this is indeed a grand spectacle!!!

**Jazz** · 03-27-2007, 11:06 AM

Contains spoilers:

Egyptian Theatre Premiere of Captain Alatriste Glitters, Deserved Goya Best Director Award

by Kriss Perras Running Waters

Captain Alatriste: A flawless performance from Spanish director/writer Agust�*n D�*az Yanes on every level: cinematography, talent, editing, sound. But, perhaps the incredible original score by Roque Baños reveals the director's accomplished hand in a particular way. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. However, the music perhaps more than the other elements made the entire experience universal because the director carried every beat across cultures through the score.

It is an unfortunate set of circumstances that this film may not receive its day in the various winner's circle amongst its peers. It is unlikely an American actor would take home the top recognition at the Spanish Goya Awards, despite the deserved performance. Viggo Mortensen carried the role of Diego Alatriste y Tenorio to perfection. Right down to small but highly effective ways of expressing an emotion, Mortensen's portrayal of this 17th century Spanish soldier-turned-mercenary is his best work to date topping even his stellar performance in the 2004 release of Hidalgo.

And the same is true in the Best Film category. Even if foreign films were nominated for the mainstream best picture award at the Academy Awards, it is not likely this beautiful series of faultless frames would win because a Spanish film would not take precedence at an American awards ceremony. But above all these, Agust�*n D�*az Yanes deserves the recognition amongst his peers across all cultures for his work on what so many have referred to as a swashbuckling film but in truth is much deeper than a mere adventure story.

Agust�*n D�*az Yanes work with young Spanish talent Unax Ugalde and Elena Anaya is just one more point in case that the Goya Best Director Award went to the wrong choice. Anaya's portrayal of Angélica's love for Ugalde's character Íñigo's nearly stole the entire show. Anaya portrayed an incredibly deep set of emotions dictated to by the life of a court lady. The scene where Íñigo smells the sweet in Angélica's hair risking the fury of the court was executed so well one did not need subtitles whatsoever. The passionate love between the characters and Angélica's fight not to resist but having to hide her feelings for Íñigo was powerfully felt. And when Íñigo waits for his love who never arrives, the emotional impact from Ugalde's portrayal of Íñigo's deep dive into loneliness was sweet potent mastery.

Ariadna Gil's vision of Mar�*a de Castro, Alatriste's love he feels so strongly for that he would kill any man who would touch her if she was his and his alone, was brought to perfection at the syphilis hospital scene. Maria is crushed down to the level of the peasant after having contracted the deadly disease. And Diego, lost without his lover, visits Maria in her lowest of states. But instead of rejecting her in her diseased state, he reaches for her hand. Maria at first connects but pulls back in shame. But rather than discarding her, Diego wraps her in a necklace he bought for Maria with his only money. He then kisses her, accepting her despite her flaws. But Maria is not always loved by the audience. She at times is intensely hated by the viewer for her deep betrayal, albeit forced, of Diego. True love never betrays its object. And once the betrayal was complete, Maria now finds she too truly loves Diego.

But perhaps the most impactful moment among the many is when Diego is on the battlefield. In a slow motion shot of Diego leading the regiment to its ill fate, his companions go down on either side of him. Then Diego is also shot. He falters for a brief moment but courageously leads his fellow man onward to death.

The action is brutal and disturbing but realistic of the times and methods of warfare. The brotherhood of men in battle transcends centuries. The ruthless Court and Church betrayals, selfishness and pursuit of power may have been taken from history but is applicable today. Without a doubt, this Spanish epic will never receive enough of its due this year. Perhaps it will become a model to study and thus become timeless then receiving its true worth and recognition.

**Jazz** · 06-04-2007, 01:43 PM

U.S. Premiere "ALATRISTE" with Viggo Mortensen

reporter added U.S. Premiere "ALATRISTE" with Viggo Mortensen
Fri, 2007-06-01 20:00 3 day(s) ago

Description
Spanish writer Arturo Perez-Reverte has generated an eager international readership for his erudite thrillers which include Club Dumas (my favorite novel in the last ten years) and the recent Queen of the South. Alatriste is based on an earlier five-novel sequence (though each title was a phenomenal best-seller in Spain, only the first has been translated and released stateside) featuring swordsman-for-hire Diego Alatriste and set in Spain’s quickly tarnishing seventeenth-century Golden Age. Captain Alatriste, a veteran of Spain’s Flemish wars, deploys his sword for anyone who will pay, which inevitably leads him into some dicey situations. Featuring Viggo Mortensen (speaking Spanish) as the swashbuckling title character, Alatriste was released abroad in late 2006 to rave reviews and box office success, but has yet to find US distribution.

Again, all Raconteur in-store events are FREE! (unless otherwise noted) and include complimentary wine (provided by Silver Decoy, recently selected as the finest winery in NJ). Films are projected onto a 6’ X 6’ screen with a high end digital projector (courtesy of Leah Kane | Exhibit A |) and piped through the shop’s eight built-in, surround sound speakers.

Please contact/RSVP Raconteur if you plan to attend. If you know of someone who might be interested in the above event, please forward this notice.

**Jazz** · 06-09-2007, 08:01 AM

London, Berlin and Madrid: cine-pigs

Between 8 and 14 June London hosts the third part of ‘Picture Europe’, the first film festival taking place simultaneously across different European cities
The Curzon cinema in Soho, where the festival is set to kick off (Photo: Tom Royal/ Flickr) In London, the event will begin with a screening of Spanish film Alatriste, starring Danish actor Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings) in the lead role, accompanied by Spanish celebrity Eduardo Noriega. The film is set during a difficult period in history, the Inquisition. It's the story of soldier Diego Alatriste who returns to war as a mercenary in the then violent and corrupt Spain.

Promoting European cinema

For the first time in Europe, this is a film festival which is organised almost simultaneously in three different countries, screening purely European films. Nowadays, European cinema hardly circulates in Europe itself. This is starkly contrary to American movies, with their special affects and hokey comedies, which are growing like weeds across European screens, often surpassing the illegal screening quota.

‘Picture Europe’, the best of European cimema, is a new project by the association of European Film Promotion (EFP), created 10 years ago. The association’s objective is to promote and export European films with the help of the European Commission and numerous other associations as well. During almost two months, in Madrid, Berlin and London, more than 25 European films will be screened in their original sub-titled version - for a mere 4 Euros. In collaboration with cinemas chosen for this event in each of the participating cities, including the Princesa and Roxy in Madrid, Cinestar in Berlin and the Curzon Soho in London, actors and directors will be responsible for presenting the European successes of the last year over one week.

Festival or film fair?

Up until now, the only European Film Festival that exported outside the borders of Europe was the European Film Festival of Seville. That event took place between 2 and 10 November in the capital of Andalusia. ‘Picture Europe’ has a different philosophy: it doesn’t consist of discerning who gets prizes and in acquiring the greatest stars. It aims to expose cinema. Only European films are screened; there’s no prize, therefore, and no way of losing-out.

The Madrid edition of the festival happened in April and was a great success. Catalonian actress Assumpta Serna inaugurated it with the screening of the film Ein Freunde von mir ('A Friend of Mine'), by German director Sebastian Schipper. The screening had a full house and at the end, the audience did something which is very rare in Spanish cinemas; they applauded.

In Berlin, the festival ran from 26 April to 2 May. It was opened by German actress Doris Kunstmann, who starred in the latest part of the French Comedy series Bronzés 3, a film which was just as successful when screened during the destival.

There is Too Much Dialogue in These Films! Long Live Explosions!

European cinema also has its detractors. Before the event began, a group of radical protestors threatened to boycott the festival in Madrid. Wearing yellow, they chanted Long live Explosions! They claimed to belong to a group called 'Boom-Action'. The group campaigns against European cinema and favours special effects movies. With too much dialogue and so few explosions, we’re bored!, they cried at passer-bys in front of the cinema’s front doors. They demanded an immediate reduction of dialogue in the films, asking for a maximum of four words per phrase and a minimum of 4.3 explosions per film.

But it turned out to be a publicity stunt for the festival itself, a few days before the whole event started. The protestors, who passed themselves off as special effects industry employees, distributed pamphlets from their fictional association to invite spectators to join in their cause and visit their website. On the site, after a list of complaints, the site gives access to a festival page, which lifts the veil on their ingenious farce.

London

On the London programme, attention is being given to the screening of A Friend of Mine (2006), starring German-Catalan actor Daniel Brühl. It was made by the same team as Goodbye Lenin and Run Lola Run. It's the story of two contrasting friends, one career-obsessed and the other by the desire to enjoy himself to the max.

There will also be a screening of the Danish version of Briget Jones, entitled Nynne, and the terrifying Dead in Three Days, or the intimate Little Secrets. Also noteworthy are films which carry stories about homosexuality and incest, such as the Romanian film Love Sick, or the film about integration, called Shnitzel Paradise.

**Jazz** · 06-14-2007, 06:21 AM

Alatriste in London: Picture Europe! Festival at the Curzon, Soho

Alatriste to be released in the US in September?

Stop the press, it just might be true. Read on……!!!!

by Iolanthe

Well, I’ve just got back from the London screening of Alatriste and, late though it is, I just had to log and post my report! Chrissie will, I’m sure. fill in my memory blanks tomorrow. She has a much longer journey than me! Excuse the hurried nature of the report. I’ll probably be heavily editing endless typos tomorrow .

We hoped that there would be someone there to talk about the film and we were thrilled to discover that it would be Agust�*n D�*az Yanes himself and that there would be a Q&A session afterwards. I came all ready with four pages of questions, none of which I really intended to ask (I’m a coward), a camera which I never used and a pen and notepad. Chrissie and I had really good seats about half way back with a gangway in front, so we had an uninterrupted view and Yanes was introduced before the film by the Spanish Ambassador, no less, which leant a real cultural gravitas to the presentation .

Although all tickets were sold (I asked) the cinema was only about two thirds full (where was everybody else?) and was a mixed audience of all ages, men and women (not just fans…). Seeing the film on the big screen sure is a different experience from watching it on DVD. I felt so much more involved. I’m so glad we finally got the chance to see it as it should be seen.

There was applause at the end of the screening and the presenter and interviewer said ‘Well, that’s certainly not Pirates of the Caribbean’, to much laughter. He asked Yanes up onto the stage who straight away said he had a message from Viggo apologising for not being there with us. He said that he ‘hoped we would all enjoy the film and if we didn’t, say nothing’. Yanes explained that Viggo was filming all week and he only had Mondays off…. The interviewer added that there were a lot of disappointed staff .

The interviewer started the Q&A off by saying how much he’d enjoyed the film, that it was very, very beautiful despite all the fighting and blood. He asked Yanes what had inspired him to make the film and Yanes gave a lengthy answer in which the only thing that has stuck in my memory is the fact that Perez-Reverte had asked him to do it and that he’d said ‘yes’ although it was a massive thing to take on.

Asked about international distribution (here it comes, folks) he said that it was opening in the US, perhaps in September. Chrissie and I nearly fell out of our seats. Please let it be true, I have everything crossed for you all!!! He also mentioned it opening in France and Italy, said it had done well in Latin America, especially Mexico, but that it was difficult to get a Spanish film into the UK market unless it’s by Almodóvar. I blush for shame, it shouldn’t be that hard .

The interviewer commented that it was a difficult genre – not quite an art film as it is a big budget swashbuckler, but it has subtitles.

Both Yanes and the interviewer were eager to talk about Viggo (as were we…). Yanes emphasised that Viggo was a ‘great actor’ and Alatriste also had to be ‘very handsome’ and Viggo is ‘very handsome, the most handsome man of all’ so it ‘could only be Viggo’ (much laughter). he had the looks, the eyes, he was Alatriste. He also said emphatically that ‘Viggo is the movie’. Without Viggo the movie would never have happened.

Asked whether there would be any other Alatriste films he said that as far as Perez-Reverte was concerned this film was the definitive film of the whole story and there wouldn’t be any more.

He was also asked about the extended version (the question was on my list too…). He seemed hopeful, in about two years time. He said it depended on the distributors and the production company, that they had said ‘yes’ but sometimes ‘yes’ turns out to be ‘no’. He said he was still persuading them and maybe if we emailed…..

Someone then asked why he had cast a woman as Bocanegra. He said that he wanted an ambiguous look – unlike the way Inquisitors had been presented in the past in films – someone who could be both a woman and a man.

On the way out we grabbed some nice Alatriste promo leaflets with an A4 repro of the poster on the front and these inside as an extra treat. Enjoy!!!!

**teena1013** · 06-15-2007, 07:39 AM

when does the DVD come out?

**Jazz** · 06-15-2007, 11:41 AM

It's suppose to come out in September.

**teena1013** · 06-16-2007, 06:44 AM

that's a long way away.