Black Bread
Encyclopedia
Black Bread is a 2010 Catalan-language Catalan drama film
written and directed by Agustí Villaronga
. The screenplay is based on the homonymous novel by Emili Teixidor, with elements of two other works by him, Retrat d'un assassí d'ocells and Sic transit Gloria Swanson.
The film won nine Goya Awards
, including best film, best director and best adapted screenplay. It was selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
at the 84th Academy Awards
being the first Catalan-language film to do it.
years' Catalan
countryside, Dionís, a bird dealer, is attacked by a man in a hooded cape while leading his horse drawn wagon through a darkened forest. The assailant kills Dionís, leads the blindfolded horse to a cliff's edge then pulls the wagon with Dionís and his son, Culet, off the cliff. Andreu, an 11-year-old boy, discovers the wreckage of the fallen cart. Culet is still alive but manages only to say a word before dying: Pitorliua, the name that villagers have given to a ghost believed to live in a cave. The falangist mayor of the town suspects that Farriol, Andreu’s father, is involved in the deaths of Dionis and his son. Farriol, who was Dionís’s business partner dealing with birds, is an easy target for incrimination due to his suspicious background as a supportive of the Second Spanish Republic
, which was repressed by the Francoist Spain. Years ago the mayor and Farriol were rivals vying for the love of Florència, Andreu’s mother, who ultimately chose Farriol as her husband cementing the major resentment against both of them. Fearing for his life, Farriol decides to flee and cross the border into France. Florència has to work in a factory in Vic
so Andreu is sent to live with his paternal relatives in a house full of women and children. Àvia, Andreu’s old grandmother and Ció, a widower aunt who had a son a few years older than Andreu, work looking after the country home of the richest family of the region, the Manuben. There is also a younger aunt, Enriqueta, who is being pressured into marrying an older neighbour she does not love. The grim household is completed with Andreu’s orphan cousin Núria, a maimed but beautiful girl around his age, who lost a hand while playing with a grenade.
Soon Andreu begins to unearth his family’s dark secrets. His aunt, Enriqueta, is the talk of the village because she is carrying a secret affair with a civil guard
. The precocious and lively Núria is engaging in sexual games with her alcoholic school teacher. Andreu befriends an older boy who he first spots bathing naked in a river in the forest. The boy is a tuberculosis
patient in a nearby monastery, who imagines he has angels' wings. Andreu helps him setting a side some food for him. Farriol, as Andreu’s accidentally discovers, has not really left for France but is hiding in the farm house's attic.
Núria and Andreu become frequent companions roaming the mysterious forest together. She has a crush on him and tries a sex game, but he rejects her sexual advances. When the mayor orders to search the farmhouse Farriol is found and sent to prison. Farriol furtively tells Andreu to convince Florència to ask for help to the influential Mrs. Manubens. Florència pays her a visit. Because the rich lady is childless and has a weakness for children Florència takes Andreu with her. Mrs. Manubens reluctantly writes a letter to the mayor interceding for Farriol. However the mayor tries to take sexual advantage from Florència instead. Andreu slowly discovers that her mother has a secret of her own. In her youth she was a close friend of Pitorliua, the ghost of the legend, who was actually a delicate young man. Visiting his burial place, Andreu and Núria encounter Pauletta, Dionís’s half demented widow. Pauletta tells them that Pitorliua was the homosexual lover of the only brother of Mrs. Manubens and because of this he was castrated implying that Farriol had something to do with it. Exploring the cave where Pitorliua was castrated Andreu and Núria discover the names of the culprits on the wall: Dionís and Farriol. Andreu confronts his mother and Florència confesses that Dionís and Farriol were paid by Mrs. Manubens to scare Pitorliua off, but things went too far.
Farriol is condemned to death. Before he is executed Florència and Andreu visit him in jail to say goodbye. He tells his son not to forget his ideals. After Farriol’s funeral Pauletta spitefully reveals to Florència and Andreu that Farriol was the killer of her husband and son following orders of Mrs. Manubens. Dionís tried to blackmail her and Mrs. Manubens first got rid of Dionís and then of Farriol. The rich lady bought Farriol’s silence in exchange for providing an excellent education for Andreu. Andreu begins to reject his family full of lies and deceptions. Instead of running away with Núria as they originally planned, he ultimately accepts to be educated with expenses paid by Mrs. Manubens. Florència comes to see him at the boarding school, but Andreu has not forgiven his parents. When a classmate asks him who was the woman who came to see him he just answers it was a woman from his village.
(Spain)
San Sebastián International Film Festival
(Spain)
Gaudí Awards (Catalonia, Spain)
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written and directed by Agustí Villaronga
Agustí Villaronga
Agustí Villaronga Riutort is a Balearic Spanish film director, screenwriter and actor. He has directed eleven films since 1976. His film El niño de la luna was entered into the 1989 Cannes Film Festival....
. The screenplay is based on the homonymous novel by Emili Teixidor, with elements of two other works by him, Retrat d'un assassí d'ocells and Sic transit Gloria Swanson.
The film won nine Goya Awards
Goya Awards
The Goya Awards, known in Spanish as los Premios Goya, are Spain's main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards....
, including best film, best director and best adapted screenplay. It was selected as the Spanish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 84th Academy Awards
84th Academy Awards
The 84th Academy Awards ceremony will honor the best films of 2011 and will take place on February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. It will be televised in the United States on ABC. The host was originally going to be Eddie Murphy. However, after Brett Ratner resigned as...
being the first Catalan-language film to do it.
Plot
In the harsh post-warSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
years' Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
countryside, Dionís, a bird dealer, is attacked by a man in a hooded cape while leading his horse drawn wagon through a darkened forest. The assailant kills Dionís, leads the blindfolded horse to a cliff's edge then pulls the wagon with Dionís and his son, Culet, off the cliff. Andreu, an 11-year-old boy, discovers the wreckage of the fallen cart. Culet is still alive but manages only to say a word before dying: Pitorliua, the name that villagers have given to a ghost believed to live in a cave. The falangist mayor of the town suspects that Farriol, Andreu’s father, is involved in the deaths of Dionis and his son. Farriol, who was Dionís’s business partner dealing with birds, is an easy target for incrimination due to his suspicious background as a supportive of the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
, which was repressed by the Francoist Spain. Years ago the mayor and Farriol were rivals vying for the love of Florència, Andreu’s mother, who ultimately chose Farriol as her husband cementing the major resentment against both of them. Fearing for his life, Farriol decides to flee and cross the border into France. Florència has to work in a factory in Vic
Vic
Vic is the capital of the comarca of Osona, in the Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain. Vic's location, only 69 km far from Barcelona and 60 km from Girona, has made it one of the most important towns in central Catalonia.-History:...
so Andreu is sent to live with his paternal relatives in a house full of women and children. Àvia, Andreu’s old grandmother and Ció, a widower aunt who had a son a few years older than Andreu, work looking after the country home of the richest family of the region, the Manuben. There is also a younger aunt, Enriqueta, who is being pressured into marrying an older neighbour she does not love. The grim household is completed with Andreu’s orphan cousin Núria, a maimed but beautiful girl around his age, who lost a hand while playing with a grenade.
Soon Andreu begins to unearth his family’s dark secrets. His aunt, Enriqueta, is the talk of the village because she is carrying a secret affair with a civil guard
Civil Guard (Spain)
The Civil Guard is the Spanish gendarmerie. It has foreign peace-keeping missions and maintains military status and is the equivalent of a federal military-status police force. As a police force, the Guardia Civil is comparable today to the French Gendarmerie, the Italian Carabinieri and the...
. The precocious and lively Núria is engaging in sexual games with her alcoholic school teacher. Andreu befriends an older boy who he first spots bathing naked in a river in the forest. The boy is a tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
patient in a nearby monastery, who imagines he has angels' wings. Andreu helps him setting a side some food for him. Farriol, as Andreu’s accidentally discovers, has not really left for France but is hiding in the farm house's attic.
Núria and Andreu become frequent companions roaming the mysterious forest together. She has a crush on him and tries a sex game, but he rejects her sexual advances. When the mayor orders to search the farmhouse Farriol is found and sent to prison. Farriol furtively tells Andreu to convince Florència to ask for help to the influential Mrs. Manubens. Florència pays her a visit. Because the rich lady is childless and has a weakness for children Florència takes Andreu with her. Mrs. Manubens reluctantly writes a letter to the mayor interceding for Farriol. However the mayor tries to take sexual advantage from Florència instead. Andreu slowly discovers that her mother has a secret of her own. In her youth she was a close friend of Pitorliua, the ghost of the legend, who was actually a delicate young man. Visiting his burial place, Andreu and Núria encounter Pauletta, Dionís’s half demented widow. Pauletta tells them that Pitorliua was the homosexual lover of the only brother of Mrs. Manubens and because of this he was castrated implying that Farriol had something to do with it. Exploring the cave where Pitorliua was castrated Andreu and Núria discover the names of the culprits on the wall: Dionís and Farriol. Andreu confronts his mother and Florència confesses that Dionís and Farriol were paid by Mrs. Manubens to scare Pitorliua off, but things went too far.
Farriol is condemned to death. Before he is executed Florència and Andreu visit him in jail to say goodbye. He tells his son not to forget his ideals. After Farriol’s funeral Pauletta spitefully reveals to Florència and Andreu that Farriol was the killer of her husband and son following orders of Mrs. Manubens. Dionís tried to blackmail her and Mrs. Manubens first got rid of Dionís and then of Farriol. The rich lady bought Farriol’s silence in exchange for providing an excellent education for Andreu. Andreu begins to reject his family full of lies and deceptions. Instead of running away with Núria as they originally planned, he ultimately accepts to be educated with expenses paid by Mrs. Manubens. Florència comes to see him at the boarding school, but Andreu has not forgiven his parents. When a classmate asks him who was the woman who came to see him he just answers it was a woman from his village.
Cast
- Francesc Colomer as Andreu
- Marina Comas as Núria
- Nora Navas as Florència
- Roger Casamajor as Farriol
- Lluïsa Castell as Ció
- Merce Aranega as Sra. Manubens
- Laia Marull as Pauletta
- Marina Gatell as Enriqueta
- Elisa Crehuet as Àvia
- Eduard Fernández as the teacher
- Sergi López as the mayor
Prizes
Goya Awards25th Goya Awards
The 25th Goya Awards were given on February 13 of 2011 to honour the best in Spanish films of 2010. Black Bread by Agustí Villaronga won nine awards, including Best Film and Best Director.-Major awards:-Other award nominees:...
(Spain)
- Won: Best Actress– Leading Role (Nora Navas)
- Won: Best Actress – Supporting Role (Laia Marull)
- Won: Best Art Direction (Ana Alvargonzález)
- Won: Best Breakthrough Actor (Francesc Colomer)
- Won: Best Breakthrough Actress (Marina Comas)
- Won: Best Cinematography (Antonio Riestra)
- Won: Best Director (Agustí Villaronga)
- Won: Best Picture
- Won: Best Screenplay – Adapted (Agustí Villaronga)
- Nominated: Best Actor – Supporting Role (Sergi López)
- Nominated: Best Costume Design (Mercè Paloma)
- Nominated: Best Make Up
- Nominated: Best Production Supervisor (Aleix Castellón)
- Nominated: Best Sound
San Sebastián International Film Festival
San Sebastián International Film Festival
The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
(Spain)
- Won: Best Actress (Nora Navas)
Gaudí Awards (Catalonia, Spain)
- Won: Best Film in Catalan Language
- Won: Best Actress– Leading Role (Nora Navas)
- Won: Best Actress – Supporting Role (Marina Comas)
- Won: Best Actor – Supporting Role (Roger Casamajor)
- Won: Best Director (Agustí Villaronga)
- Won: Best Screenplay (Agustí Villaronga)
- Won: Best Picture (Antonio Riestra)
- Won: Best Art Direction (Ana Alvargonzález)
- Won: Best Production Supervisor (Aleix Castellón)
- Won: Best Sound (Dani Fonrodona, Fernando Novillo and Ricard Casals)
- Won: Best Make Up (Satur Merino i Alma Casal)
- Won: Best Sound (José Manuel Pagán)
- Won: Best Costume Design (Mercè Paloma)
- Won: Best Film Editing (Raúl Román)
See also
- List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Spanish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film