Moors and Christians (film)

Moors and Christians (Spanish: Moros y cristianos)^[1] is a 1987 Spanish comedy film directed by Luis García Berlanga. The cast features Fernando Fernán Gómez, Verónica Forqué, Agustín González, Chus Lampreave, José Luis López Vázquez, Andrés Pajares, María Luisa Ponte, Antonio Resines, Pedro Ruiz and Rosa María Sardá.

Moors and Christians
Theatrical release poster
Spanish	Moros y cristianos
Directed by	Luis García Berlanga
Written by	Rafael Azcona Luis García Berlanga
Starring	Fernando Fernán Gómez Verónica Forqué Agustín González Chus Lampreave José L. López Vázquez Andrés Pajares M.ª Luisa Ponte Antonio Resines Pedro Ruiz Rosa M.ª Sardá
Cinematography	Domingo Solano
Edited by	José Luis Matesanz
Production companies	Anola Films S.A. Estela Films S.A. Anem Films S.A.
Release dates	23 October 1987 (1987-10-23) (Seminci) 28 October 1987 (1987-10-28) (Spain)
Running time	116 min
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish
Budget	c. 200 million ₧

Plot

The Planchadell y Calabuig, a family of turrón-makers from Xixona (province of Alicante), travel to Madrid to sell their product.^[2] Once there, they are approached by an image consultant.^[2]

Cast

• Fernando Fernán-Gómez as Fernando.^[3]
• Rosa María Sardá as Cuqui.^[3]
• Andrés Pajares as Marcial.^[3]
• José Luis López Vázquez as Jacinto López.^[3]
• Agustín González as Agustín
• Verónica Forqué as Monique.^[3]
• Pedro Ruiz as Pepe.^[3]
• María Luisa Ponte as Marcella del Piamonte.^[3]
• Antonio Resines as Olivares.^[3]
• Chus Lampreave as Antonia.^[3]
• Luis Escobar as fray Félix.^[3]
• Florentino Soria [es] as Florentino.^[3]
• Joan Monleón [es] as Joan.^[3]
• Luis Ciges as señor Ropero.^[3]
• Diana Peñalver as criada de Cuqui.^[3]
• Chari Moreno as esposa de Pepe.^[3]
• Juan Tamarit reportero de la revista Hola.^[3]
• Elena Santonja as herself.^[3]
• José Luis Coll [es] as himself.^[3]
• Antonio de Senillosa as don Antonio.^[3]
• Antonio Gómez Rufo as Palomares.^[3]
• Emilio Laguna [es] as camarero marisquería.^[3]
• Juan de Pablos [es] as delegado Salón Gastronómico.^[3]
• Xavier Domingo as Delacroix.^[3]
• Jorge Luis Roelas [es] as turronero.^[3]
• Pilar Ordóñez as policía municipal.^[3]
• Félix Dafauce as anciano.^[3]

Production

The film had a budget of around 200 million ₧.^[2] Filming began in Madrid by May 1987.^[2]

Release

Moors and Christians premiered on 23 October 1987 at the 32nd Seminci, screened as the opening film of the festival.^[4][5] It was theatrically released in Spain on 28 October 1987.^[3]

Reception

Fotogramas gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, deeming it to be one of the most disappointing films in Berlanga's filmography.^[6] Ángel Fernández-Santos of El País considered that what was a "state of grace" in Plácido had seemingly slipped into "a state of disgrace" in Moors and Christians.^[7] He also noted that while Pajares, Forqué and Ponte's performances worked just fine, the rest of performances only worked intermittently or not at all.^[7]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
1988	2nd Goya Awards	Best Screenplay	Rafael Azcona & Luis García Berlanga	Nominated	[8]
		Best Supporting Actress	Verónica Forqué	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Agustín González	Nominated
			Pedro Ruiz	Nominated

See also

• List of Spanish films of 1987

References

Citations

1. Lázaro Reboll, Antonio; Marsh, Steven; Martín-Márquez, Susan; Zunzunegui, Santos (2013). "Strategic Auteurism". In Labanyi, Jo; Pavlović, Tatjana (eds.). A Companion to Spanish Cinema. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p. 165. ISBN 978-1-4051-9438-9.
2. García, Ángeles (21 May 1987). "'Moros y cristianos', una astracanada sobre los creadores de imagen". El País.
3. Sande 2005, p. 207.
4. Rodríguez, Gonzalo (23 October 1987). "'Moros y cristianos' inicia el festival de cine de Valladolid". El País.
5. Fernández-Santos, Ángel (25 October 1987). "Una buena selección del cine de nuestros días en el programa de la Seminci". El País.
6. "Moros y cristianos". Fotogramas. 29 May 2008.
7. Fernández-Santos, Ángel (4 November 1987). "El cadáver de un estilo". El País.
8. "Moros y cristianos". Premios Goya. Retrieved 18 December 2021.

Bibliography

• Sande, José Manuel (2005). "Filmografía". In Castro de Paz, José Luis; Pérez Perucha, Julio (eds.). La atalaya en la tormenta: el cine de Luis García Berlanga (PDF). Ourense: Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente de Ourense. p. 193. ISBN 84-87623-53-0.