Camino (2008 film)

Camino is a 2008 Spanish drama film written, directed and edited by Javier Fesser starring Nerea Camacho as the title character alongside Carmen Elías, Mariano Venancio and Manuela Vellés.

Camino
Directed by	Javier Fesser
Written by	Javier Fesser
Produced by	Luis Manso Jaume Roures
Starring	Nerea Camacho Carme Elías Mariano Venancio Manuela Vellés
Cinematography	Alex Catalán
Edited by	Javier Fesser
Music by	Rafa Arnau Mario Gosálvez
Production companies	Mediapro Películas Pendelton
Distributed by	Alta Classics
Release dates	25 September 2008 (2008-09-25) (SSIFF) 17 October 2008 (2008-10-17) (Spain)
Running time	143 minutes
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish

The plot is inspired by (and dedicated to) the real story of Alexia González-Barros, a girl who died from spinal cancer at age 14 in 1985 and who is in process of canonization.^[1] The girl's family (related to the Opus Dei) did not agree with the film and so controversy mired the film since the very beginning, and arguably only served to increase interest in the film.^[2]

The film swept the 23rd Goya Awards, winning in 6 categories, including 4 of the Big 5 (Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay and Actress).

Plot

Camino and her family belong to the Opus Dei.^[3] She develops a crush for a boy (Cuco/Jesús).^[3][4] Camino's elder sister is a Catholic acolyte, deliberately kept from contacting her family. Suppressing open signs of normal maternal grief, the mother seems almost inhuman in urging her dying daughter to "offer up" her suffering for Jesus. The father struggles to protect his daughter from a concerted effort to canonize her (even before her death) by his wife, elder daughter, and Catholic officials. Even the hospital medical staff seem to be complicit in this.

Jesús, the name Camino invokes, is not Christ, but that of her normal schoolgirl crush. This is shown in dream sequences she experiences throughout the film.

Cast

• Nerea Camacho as Camino^[5]
• Carmen Elías as Gloria^[6] Camino's mother.
• Mariano Venancio as José,^[6] Camino's father.
• Manuela Vellés as Nuria,^[6] Camino's elder sister
• Ana Gracia [es] as Inés^[7]
• Lola Casamayor [es] as Tía Marita^[7]
• Lucas Manzano as Cuco^[7]
• Pepe Ocio [es] as Don Miguel Ángel^[7]
• Claudia Otero as Begoña^[7]
• Jordi Dauder as Don Luis^[7]
• Emilio Gavira as Mr. Meebles^[7]
• Miriam Raya as Elena^[7]

Release

The film premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival's official competition.^[8] Distributed by Alta Classics,^[9] it was theatrically released in Spain on 17 October 2008.^[10]

Reception

The film won six Goya Awards, including best picture, best director, and best original screenplay.^[11]

Criticism by the González-Barros family

Alexia's siblings said that the film was a distortion of the girl's history. They also objected to Fesser's use of Alexia's full name in his dedication, despite him having undertaken not to directly identify her.^[12]

In reaction to the film, director Pedro Delgado^[who?] released a documentary about the life of Alexia González-Barros in 2011, including video footage from the latter's family archives.^[13]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2009	14th Forqué Awards	Best Picture		Won	[14]
	23rd Goya Awards	Best Film		Won	[11][15]
		Best Director	Javier Fesser	Won
		Best Original Screenplay	Javier Fesser	Won
		Best Actress	Carme Elias	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Jordi Dauder	Won
		Best New Actress	Nerea Camacho	Won
		Best Special Effects	Arturo Balseiro, Ferrán Piquer, Raúl Romanillos	Nominated
	18th Actors and Actresses Union Awards	Best Film Actress in a Leading Role	Carmen Elías	Won	[16][17]
		Best Film Actor in a Leading Role	Mariano Venancio	Won
		Best Film Actor in a Secondary Role	Jordi Dauder	Won
		Best Film Actress in a Minor Role	Lola Casamayor	Won
			Ana Gracia	Nominated
		Best Film Actor in a Minor Role	Pepe Ocio	Nominated
	Vilnius International Film Festival	Audience's Award for Best Film		Won

See also

• List of Spanish films of 2008

References

1. González de Dios, Tasso Cereceda & Ogando Díaz 2012, p. 360.
2. González de Dios, Tasso Cereceda & Ogando Díaz 2012, pp. 360–361.
3. Marshall, Lee (25 September 2008). "Camino". ScreenDaily.
4. "Camino". The Hollywood Reporter. 24 September 2008.
5. González de Dios, J.; Tasso Cereceda, M.; Ogando Díaz, B (2012). "La mirada del cine al cáncer (II): cuando la Oncología pediátrica es la protagonista" (PDF). Pediatría Atención Primaria. 14 (56): 361. doi:10.4321/S1139-76322012000500013. ISSN 1139-7632 – via SciELO.
6. González de Dios, Tasso Cereceda & Ogando Díaz 2012, p. 361.
7. ""Camino". Ficha artística y técnica". RTVE. 13 October 2008.
8. "«Camino» vuelve a los cines". La Voz de Galicia. 4 February 2009.
9. "Camino". Madrid Film Office. Madrid Destino Cultura Turismo y Negocio S.A. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
10. Pereda, Olga; Fernández, Juan (3 February 2009). "'Camino' volverá a las salas tras su gran triunfo en los Goya". El Periódico de Catalunya.
11. "Especial Premios Goya 2009". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2009-10-29.
12. "Family members deplore filmmaker's distortion of girl under consideration for sainthood". Catholic News Agency. October 1, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
13. "The real story of Alexia" (in Spanish). La Razon. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
14. "'Camino' gana el Premio Cinematográfico José María Forqué". Fotogramas. 15 January 2009.
15. "Camino". Premios Goya. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
16. "Penélope Cruz y Chus Lampreave, rivales en los Premios de la Unión de Actores". 20minutos.es (in Spanish). 19 January 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
17. "El filme ´Camino´ arrasa en los Premios de la Unión de Actores". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 11 March 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2021.

External links

• Camino at IMDb