Lo que escondían sus ojos

Lo que escondían sus ojos is a Spanish romance television miniseries directed by Salvador Calvo adapting the novel of the same name by Nieves Herrero, which focuses on the adulterous love story between Sonsoles Icaza and Ramón Serrano Suñer. It stars Blanca Suárez and Rubén Cortada. While successful in terms of audience, the miniseries, with limited historical rigor, was decried as a banalization of the Francoist regime and the figure of Serrano Suñer in particular.[1][2][3][4][5] It aired in 2016 on Telecinco.

Lo que escondían sus ojos
GenreRomantic drama
Based onLo que escondían sus ojos
by Nieves Herrero
Screenplay byHelena Medina
Directed bySalvador Calvo
Starring
Country of originSpain
Original languageSpanish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes4
Production
CinematographyFelipe Alba
Production companyMOD Producciones
Original release
NetworkTelecinco
Release22 November (2016-11-22) –
20 December 2016 (2016-12-20)

Premise

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Set in between Madrid and San Sebastián,[6] the plot concerns the adulterous love story between Ramón Serrano Suñer (Rubén Cortada) —Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Francoist regime, married to Zita Polo (Loreto Mauleón), and co-brother-in law of Francisco Franco (Javier Gutiérrez)— and Sonsoles de Icaza (Blanca Suárez) —the Marquise of Llanzol, married to the older Francisco de Paula Díez de Rivera (Emilio Gutiérrez Caba)—,[7][n. 1] after they meet in 1942 in a gala at the Hotel Ritz.[9]

Cast

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Main

Production

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The Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos was used to represent the headquarters of the Francoist Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[6]

Lo que escondían sus ojos was based on the novel of the same name by Nieves Herrero.[7] Produced by MOD Producciones (a subsidiary of Mediaset España)[5][12] and scripted by Helena Medina, the miniseries was directed by Salvador Calvo.[7] Felipe Alba was charged with the cinematography direction whereas Marcelo Pacheco worked in the art direction.[9]

With key settings in the fiction consisting of Madrid and San Sebastián, production worked both in the Spanish capital and San Sebastián as well as in El Espinar (province of Segovia).[6] Shooting locations in Madrid included the Quinta de El Pardo [es], San Jerónimo el Real, the Basilica of San Francisco el Grande, the Centro Cultural de los Ejércitos, the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos [es] and the Palace of Santoña.[6] Shooting locations in San Sebastián included the Beach of La Concha and the Palace of Miramar.[13][14]

Release and reception

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The 4-part miniseries premiered on 22 November 2016, earning a 19.3% audience share.[15] The broadcasting run ended on 20 December 2016.[15] It commanded "great" viewership ratings, averaging 3.2 million viewers and a 18.9% share.[15]

Lo que escondían sus ojos was decried as a banalization of the Francoist dictatorship and the figure of Serrano Suñer in particular, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Franco's right-hand (he was known at the height of his power as Ministro Presidente, "Minister-President") and a prominent Philo-Nazi figure within the regime: his actions include the elaboration of the legislation enabling the seizure of information that allowed for the imprisonment and killing of thousands of former members of parties, trade unions and Republican associations and a deal reached with Heinrich Himmler on Gestapo–Spanish police collaboration to repatriate Republican exiles, none of which is palpably dealt with in the fiction.[2][5][3][16]

According to the analysis of Rúa Fernández & Rúa Fernández (2021), "the result is highly complacent with one of the most repressive dictatorships of the 20th century in Europe, as well as with one of its most important representatives in its darkest period".[17]

Mediaset (Italy) purchased the rights for the broadcasting in Italy.[18] The miniseries aired for the first time on Canale 5 under the title Quello che nascondono i tuoi occhi from 3 January 2017 to 15 January 2017.[19]

SeriesEpisodesOriginally airedViewersShare (%)Ref.
First airedLast airedNetwork
1422 November 2016 (2016-11-22)20 December 2016 (2016-12-20)Telecinco3.200.00018.9[15][20]
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byViewersOriginal air dateShare (%)
1"Dos mundos opuestos"Salvador CalvoHelena Medina3,348,00022 November 2016 (2016-11-22)19.3
2"A corazón abierto"Salvador CalvoHelena Medina3,213,00029 November 2016 (2016-11-29)18.7
3"Un secreto a voces"Salvador CalvoHelena Medina3,129,00013 December 2016 (2016-12-13)18.4
4"El mundo en nuestra contra"Salvador CalvoHelena Medina3,111,00020 December 2016 (2016-12-20)19.2

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2017 64th Ondas Awards Best Actress Blanca Suárez Won [21]
19th Iris Awards Best Actress Blanca Suárez Nominated [22]
5th MiM Series Awards [es] Best Miniseries or TV Movie Nominated [23]

References

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Notes
  1. ^ Francisco de Paula Díez de Rivera was roughly 24 years older than Sonsoles de Icaza,[7] while Emilio Gutiérrez Caba is more than 40 years older than Blanca Suárez.[8]
Citations
  1. ^ Rúa Fernández & Rúa Fernández 2021, pp. 325–349.
  2. ^ a b "'Lo que escondían sus ojos', criticada por 'banalizar' y 'vestir de cordero' a Serrano Súñer". Vertele!. eldiario.es. 23 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Piden la retirada de 'Lo que escondían sus ojos' por banalizar el franquismo". Bluper. El Español. 13 December 2016.
  4. ^ "'Lo que escondían sus ojos'... y el guión, según critica la red". Diario Vasco. 23 November 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Landaluze, Koldo (26 November 2016). "Duras críticas contra la ficción "Lo que escondían sus ojos"". Gara.
  6. ^ a b c d "Concluye el rodaje de 'Lo que escondían sus ojos' con Blanca Suárez y Rubén Cortada". El Norte de Castilla. 3 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e "'Lo que escondían sus ojos' – estreno 22 de noviembre en Telecinco". Audiovisual451. 16 November 2016.
  8. ^ Río, Jesús del (13 December 2016). "Las meteduras de pata de 'Lo que escondían sus ojos'". El Mundo.
  9. ^ a b Gómez, Inma (22 November 2016). ""Lo que escondían sus ojos" llega esta noche a Telecinco". Culturamas.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Blanca Suárez ya es la bella marquesa de Llanzol en 'Lo que escondían sus ojos'". Diez Minutos. 27 January 2016.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h "Telecinco retrata la España de postguerra en la miniserie 'Lo que escondían sus ojos'". Diario de Calvia. 2 February 2016.
  12. ^ X.M. (19 December 2016). "Así será el desenlace de 'Lo que escondían sus ojos'". El Confidencial.
  13. ^ "'Lo que escondían sus ojos' se rueda en La Concha". Noticias de Gipuzkoa. 13 November 2015.
  14. ^ Merino, Raquel (26 November 2015). "Blanca Suárez y Rubén Cortada comienza el rodaje de 'Lo que escondían sus ojos'". Diario Sur.
  15. ^ a b c d Carro, David (21 December 2016). "'Lo que escondían sus ojos' termina sus emisiones con un estupendo 18,9% de media". FormulaTV.
  16. ^ Hernández, Carlos (23 November 2016). "Los crímenes que escondían sus ojos". eldiario.es.
  17. ^ Rúa Fernández & Rúa Fernández 2021, p. 326.
  18. ^ Migelez, Xabier (19 December 2016). "Tras su éxito, Mediaset Italia compra 'Lo que escondían sus ojos' para Canale 5". El Confidencial.
  19. ^ Del Zotti, Marika (29 December 2017). "29 Dicembre 2017 da Marika Del Zotti". TVSerial.
  20. ^ "Capítulos 'Lo que escondían sus ojos'". FormulaTV. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  21. ^ "'Sé quién eres' y Blanca Suárez, Ondas 2017". Mediaset. 18 October 2017.
  22. ^ "'El Ministerio del tiempo' es la mejor ficción de unos Premios Iris 2017 dominados por Antena 3". Espinof. 24 October 2017.
  23. ^ "Los Premios MiM coronan a Sé quién eres y Allí abajo como series del año". Vertele!. eldiario.es. 19 December 2017.
Bibliography