Caín (1984 film)
Encyclopedia
Caín is a 1984
Colombian
drama film
directed by Gustavo Nieto Roa. The film is based on the eponymous novel written by Eduardo Caballero Calderón
. The plot sets the biblical story of Cain and Abel in 1960’s rural Colombia
. It follows the bitter rivalry between two brothers over the love of one woman.
Margarita is more attracted to the handsome and masculine Martín, but Abel is more pliable and been rich he suits her aspiration of money and position. Pressured by the family priest Margarita ends up marrying Martín a decision she soon regrets. Martín, victim of his wife’s social prejudices, leaves the farm. Margarita then asks Abel to live with her. Sometime after wards, the three get together again and Martín kidnaps Margarita after killing his half-brother. Martin escapes with her towards Colombia’s eastern plains and joins a guerrilla group led by Pedro Palos, his old friend from their military service.
Martin and Margarita are not welcome in the guerilla. Margarita is pregnant while Martín, accused of killing Abel, is looked for by the authorities. This makes the guerrilla members to argue among them. In the meantime Margarita gives birth to Abel’s son. Don Polo offers a ransom for Margarita and his newborn grandson. Pedro wants to claim the money offered by Don Polo and Martin wants to keep his wife and the baby. Both have to escape, each going their own way.
as part of a project created during the presidency of Belisario Betancur
to promote the development of Colombia's film industry. Caín was shot in Boyaca
, Cundinamarca
and the eastern Colombian plains, most of the farm scenes where shot in Sogamoso
. The film premiered at the 44° International film festival of Cartagena
on 5 July 1984.
1984 in film
-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
Colombian
Colombian people
Colombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...
drama film
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...
directed by Gustavo Nieto Roa. The film is based on the eponymous novel written by Eduardo Caballero Calderón
Eduardo Caballero Calderón
Eduardo Caballero Calderón was a Colombian journalist and writer. As journalist, he worked to the main Colombian newspapers, such as El Tiempo and El Espectador. Also he was a diplomat from Colombia in Peru, Argentina, Spain and France...
. The plot sets the biblical story of Cain and Abel in 1960’s rural Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. It follows the bitter rivalry between two brothers over the love of one woman.
Plot
Don Polo, a rich influential landowner, has only one legitimate son, Abel, who is spoil, naive and weak. Don Polo’s oldest son, Martín, was born out of a relationship with Dionisia, the housekeeper in his farm called: El Paraiso (the paradise). Martín and Abel have grown up together but in very different circumstances. Martín has been treated not like a son but like any other peasant in the farm. In spite of these differences the two brothers have had a good relationship in which the older and more experienced Martín keeps the upper hand. Their friendship breaks up with the arrival of Margarita, a beautiful young woman who belong to a penniless aristocratic family. Margarita’s father was the previous owner of el Paraiso. Both brothers are attracted to the sweet and flirty Margarita and she is torn between the two.Margarita is more attracted to the handsome and masculine Martín, but Abel is more pliable and been rich he suits her aspiration of money and position. Pressured by the family priest Margarita ends up marrying Martín a decision she soon regrets. Martín, victim of his wife’s social prejudices, leaves the farm. Margarita then asks Abel to live with her. Sometime after wards, the three get together again and Martín kidnaps Margarita after killing his half-brother. Martin escapes with her towards Colombia’s eastern plains and joins a guerrilla group led by Pedro Palos, his old friend from their military service.
Martin and Margarita are not welcome in the guerilla. Margarita is pregnant while Martín, accused of killing Abel, is looked for by the authorities. This makes the guerrilla members to argue among them. In the meantime Margarita gives birth to Abel’s son. Don Polo offers a ransom for Margarita and his newborn grandson. Pedro wants to claim the money offered by Don Polo and Martin wants to keep his wife and the baby. Both have to escape, each going their own way.
Cast
- Armando Gutiérrez - Martin
- Marta Liliana Ruiz - Margarita
- Jorge Emilio Salazar – Abel
- Adolfo Blum – Don Polo
- Carmenza Gomez - Dionisia
- Sebastián Ospina – Pedro palos
- Luis Eduardo Arango – el doctorcito
Production
Caín was produced by Focine (Colombian National Film Bureau). It was entirely made in ColombiaColombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
as part of a project created during the presidency of Belisario Betancur
Belisario Betancur
Belisario Betancur Cuartas is a Colombian statesman, who as a member of the Colombian Conservative Party was President of Colombia from 1982 to 1986.- Biographic data :...
to promote the development of Colombia's film industry. Caín was shot in Boyaca
Boyacá
Boyacá is the name of a region in Colombia. It may refer to any of:* Boyacá Department* Boyacá Department * Boyacá River* Boyacá Municipality* Battle of Boyacá* Boyacá Chicó F.C.* Boyacá Avenue an avenue in Bogotá...
, Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca Department
- Origin of the name :The name of Cundinamarca comes from Kundur marqa, an indigenous expression, probably derived from Quechua. Meaning "Condor's Nest", it was used in pre-Columbian times by the natives of the Magdalena Valley to refer to the nearby highlands....
and the eastern Colombian plains, most of the farm scenes where shot in Sogamoso
Sogamoso
Sogamoso is a city in the Boyacá department of Colombia.The origin of Sogamoso goes back in the cosmogony, Chibcha, to the creation of the Sun. In the valley of Iraca the Sun was born...
. The film premiered at the 44° International film festival of Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
on 5 July 1984.