Actresses (Catalan: Actrius) is a 1997 Catalan language Spanish drama film produced and directed by Ventura Pons and based on the award-winning stage play E.R. by Josep Maria Benet i Jornet. The film has no male actors, with all roles played by females.[1] The film was produced in 1996. [2]

Actresses
Catalan language film poster
(Catalan: Actrius)
Directed byVentura Pons
Written byJosep Maria Benet i Jornet
Screenplay byVentura Pons
Based on(stage play) E.R.
by Josep Maria Benet i Jornet
Produced byVentura Pons
Starring
CinematographyTomàs Pladevall
Edited byPere Abadal
Music byCarles Cases
Production
companies
Distributed byBuena Vista International
Release date
  • 17 January 1997 (1997-01-17) (Spain)
Running time
100 minutes
CountrySpain
LanguageCatalan

Synopsis

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In order to prepare herself to play a role commemorating the life of legendary actress Empar Ribera, young actress (Mercè Pons) interviews three established actresses who had been the Ribera's pupils: the international diva Glòria Marc (Núria Espert), the television star Assumpta Roca (Rosa Maria Sardà), and dubbing director Maria Caminal (Anna Lizaran).[3]

Cast

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Recognition

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Screenings

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Actrius screened in 2001 at the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in an American Cinematheque retrospective of the works of its director. The film had first screened at the same location in 1998.[4] It was also shown at the 1997 Stockholm International Film Festival.[3]

Reception

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In Movie - Film - Review, Christopher Tookey wrote that though the actresses were "competent in roles that may have some reference to their own careers", the film "is visually unimaginative, never escapes its stage origins, and is almost totally lacking in revelation or surprising incident".[5] Noting that there were "occasional, refreshing moments of intergenerational bitchiness", they did not "justify comparisons to All About Eve", and were "insufficiently different to deserve critical parallels with Rashomon".[5] He also wrote that The Guardian called the film a "slow, stuffy chamber-piece", and that The Evening Standard stated the film's "best moments exhibit the bitchy tantrums seething beneath the threesome's composed veneers".[5] MRQE wrote "This cinematic adaptation of a theatrical work is true to the original, but does not stray far from a theatrical rendering of the story."[6]

Awards and nominations

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References

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  1. ^ Torres, Rosanna (15 October 1996). "'E. R', de Benet i Jornet, es llevada al cine y al teatro". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Actrius". Barcelona Film Commission. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Actrius". Stockholm International Film Festival. 1997. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  4. ^ THomas, Kevin (1 March 2001). "Sometimes, the World Gets in the Way". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Tookey, Chris. "review: Actresses / Actrius / Actrices". Movie - Film - Review. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  6. ^ staff. "Actrius (1997)". MRQE. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
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