What Lucía Saw (Spanish: Llegaron de noche;[1] transl. 'They Came by Night')[2] is a 2022 Spanish-Colombian drama film directed by Imanol Uribe which stars Juana Acosta, Juan Carlos Martínez, Carmelo Gómez and Karra Elejalde. It is a dramatization of the 1989 murders of Jesuits in El Salvador by the Salvadoran Army.
| What Lucía Saw | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Spanish | Llegaron de noche |
| Directed by | Imanol Uribe |
| Written by | Daniel Cebrián |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Kalo Berridi |
| Edited by | Teresa Font |
| Music by | Vanessa Garde |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Karma Films (es) |
Release dates |
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| Countries |
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| Language | Spanish |
Plot
editThe plot follows the Central American University's cleaning staff Lucía Barrera de Cerna,[3] a witness of the massacre of the 1989 murders of Jesuits in El Salvador by the Salvadoran Army,[4] who stood up for truth and refused to cover up the responsibility of the military with the fake attribution of the crime to the FMLN guerrilla by the Salvadoran government,[5] in the midst of the Salvadoran Civil War.
Cast
edit- Juana Acosta as Lucía Barrera de Cerna[5]
- Juan Carlos Martínez[5]
- Carmelo Gómez as Padre Tojeira[5]
- Karra Elejalde as Ignacio Ellacuría[5]
- Ben Temple as Father Tipton[2]
- Angel Bonanni[6]
- Manu Fullola[6]
- Rodrigo Villagrán[6]
- Cristhian Esquivel[6]
- Gerald B. Fillmore[6]
- Eric Francés[6]
- José Roberto Díaz[6]
- Ernesto Collado as Father Nachito[2]
- Julio Pachón as Colonel López[2]
Production
editThe film was originally known as La mirada de Lucía (transl. Lucía's gaze) early in the production stage. The screenplay was penned by Daniel Cebrián.[3] The film was produced by Bowfinger International Pictures, Tornasol Media and Nunca digas nunca AIE alongside 64A Films, and it had the participation of RTVE and Movistar+ and support from ICAA, the Ibermedia programme and ICO.[7] Shooting began by November 2020 in Navarre.[8] It later moved to Colombia, shooting in Valle del Cauca in between Cali and Buga.[9]
Release
editThe film was presented on 21 March 2022 at the 25th Málaga Film Festival,[10] as part of the festival's main competition.[7] Distributed by Karma Films, it opened in Spanish theatres on 25 March 2022.[11][12]
Reception
editSergio F. Pinilla of Cinemanía rated the film with 4 out of 5 stars, underscoring that Acosta shines in Uribe's return to political thriller.[13]
Juan Pando of Fotogramas gave it 3 out of 5 stars, highlighting "the innocence of the protagonist in the face of the surrounding horror", while considering that the negative characters were not sufficiently humanised as a drawback.[14]
Manuel J. Lombardo of Diario de Sevilla gave a negative review and 2 stars, deeming the film, weighed down by several bad decisions, to be a "discursive, superficial, leaden work", "with no real context, political bite nor dramatic tension".[15]
Jonathan Holland of ScreenDaily deemed What Lucía Saw to be a "well-intentioned but uneven" film, pointing out that some people will wonder "how it is possible to extract so little tension from such a subject".[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Hopewell, John; Jones, Holly (21 March 2022). "Malaga Film Festival 2022 Lineup". Variety.
- ^ a b c d e Holland, Jonathan (23 March 2022). "'What Lucia Saw': Malaga Review". ScreenDaily.
- ^ a b "La matanza de los jesuitas en El Salvador, al cine en marzo". El Día de Valladolid. 21 December 2021.
- ^ "El director de cine Imanol Uribe recrea el asesinato de Ellacuría y los jesuitas de la UCA". Cadena COPE. 24 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Tráiler de 'Llegaron de noche': Imanol Uribe recrea la masacre de los jesuitas en El Salvador". RTVE. 25 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Llegaron de noche". Cineuropa. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Daniel Guzmán, Carla Simón, Jota Linares, Juan Miguel del Castillo e Imanol Uribe, competirán en Festival de Cine". Europa Press. 17 February 2022.
- ^ "Comienza en Navarra el rodaje de "La mirada de Lucía", sobre el asesinato de Ignacio Ellacuría". Noticias de Navarra. 9 November 2020.
- ^ "Los rodajes cinematográficos arrancaron en Colombia". El Universal. 8 February 2021.
- ^ "Juana Acosta protagoniza 'Llegaron de noche', basada en la matanza de los jesuitas en El Salvador". La Nación. 21 March 2022.
- ^ "El Festival de Málaga 2022 avanza las primeras producciones españolas para su Sección Oficial". Cine y Tele. 17 February 2022.
- ^ Nogueira Calvar, Andrea (1 April 2022). "Imanol Uribe y Juana Acosta presentan 'Llegaron de noche' a los suscriptores de EL PAÍS". El País.
- ^ Pinilla, Sergio F. (24 March 2022). "Crítica de 'Llegaron de noche'". Cinemanía – via 20minutos.es.
- ^ Pando, Juan (27 March 2022). "Crítica de 'Llegaron de noche', lo nuevo de Imanol Uribe". Fotogramas.
- ^ Lombardo, Manuel J. (26 March 2022). "Sin tensión no hay denuncia". Diario de Sevilla.
External links
edit- What Lucía Saw at ICAA's Catálogo de Cinespañol