Holy Mother[1] or The Abbess[2] (Spanish: La abadesa) is a 2024 Spanish-Belgian historical drama film written and directed by Antonio Chavarrías inspired by the life of Emma of Barcelona starring Daniela Brown as the title character alongside Blanca Romero and Carlos Cuevas.
| Holy Mother | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Film poster | |
| Spanish | La abadesa |
| Directed by | Antonio Chavarrías |
| Screenplay by | Antonio Chavarrías |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Julián Elizalde |
| Edited by | Clara Martínez Malagelada |
| Music by | Ivan Georgiev |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Wanda Visión |
Release dates |
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| Countries |
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| Language | Spanish |
Plot
editIn the 9th century, 17-year-old Emma is tasked with leading an abbey and Christianizing and repopulating borderland territories upon the death of her father.[2][3]
Cast
edit- Daniela Brown as Emma[4]
- Blanca Romero as Eloisa[4]
- Carlos Cuevas as Borrell[4]
- Ernest Villegas as Eduard[4]
- Berta Sánchez as Clara[4]
- Oriol Genís as Odón[4]
- Joaquín Notario as Gotmar[4]
- Anaël Snoek as Melisenda[4]
Production
editThe film is an Oberon Media (Mónica Lozano and Antonio Chavarrías), Wanda Visión (Miguel Morales and José María Morales), and Icono 2020 AIE production in co-production with Belgium's Saga Film (Hubert Toint), with the participation of RTVE, TV3 and Aragón TV.[5][6] Shooting locations included Loarre and La Seu Vella.[7]
Release
editThe film made it to the main competition of the 27th Málaga Film Festival,[8] with a debut date set for 7 March 2024.[9] Distributed by Wanda Visión, it was released theatrically in Spain on 22 March 2024.[10]
Reception
editJuan Pando of Fotogramas rated the "austere" film 3 out of 5 stars, singling out "the beautiful simplicity chosen for the mise-en-scène" as the best thing about the film, while negatively citing the sometimes excessively long-winded writing.[11]
Javier Ocaña of El País deemed the film, "overlong and without sufficient plot and emotional handholds", to be "a product that is hardly reprehensible, but which is unlikely to find its audience".[12]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ McLennan, Callum; Meza, Ed (6 March 2024). "Power, Religion and the Place of Women Dominate Antonio Chavarrías' High-Profile Malaga Competition Contender 'Holy Mother'". Variety.
- ^ a b "The Abbess [La Abadesa]". Spanish Kaleidoscope. Ministerio de Cultura. Gobierno de España. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ "» Cultura RTVE.es estrena el tráiler de 'La abadesa', la religiosa que se enfrentó a las estructuras de poder del siglo IX". rtve.es. 14 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "La abadesa". Wanda Visión. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ García Macías, Isabel (15 February 2023). "Antonio Chavarrías ultima el rodaje de 'La abadesa' en el castillo de Loarre". Heraldo de Aragón.
- ^ Sánchez-Sequera, Marco (15 February 2023). "Comienza el rodaje de 'La abadesa', la nueva película de Antonio Chavarrías". Audiovisual451.
- ^ "'La abadesa', de Antonio Chavarrías participa en la sección oficial de largometrajes". CARTV. 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Festival de Málaga 2024: fechas, películas a concurso y homenajeados del cine español". Cinemanía. 14 February 2024 – via 20minutos.es.
- ^ "La abadesa". festival de Málaga. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ García Macías, Isabel (15 February 2024). "La película 'La abadesa', rodada en el castillo de Loarre, llega a los cines el 22 de marzo". Heraldo de Aragón.
- ^ Pando, Juan (22 March 2024). "Crítica de 'La abadesa', austero viaje a lo más oscuro de la Edad Media". Fotogramas.
- ^ Ocaña, Javier (22 March 2024). "'La abadesa': o cómo unas monjas del siglo IX sirven como símbolos de la sororidad actual". El País.