''Alatriste'' is a 2006 Spanish epic

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Agustín Díaz Yanes Agustín Díaz Yanes (born 1950, in Madrid) is a Spanish Goya Award-winning screenwriter and film director. Filmography Screenwriter * ''Al límite'' (1997) * '' Belmonte'' (1995) * '' Demasiado corazón'' (1992) * '' A solas contigo'' (1990 ...

, based on the main character of a series of novels written by

Arturo Pérez-Reverte Arturo Pérez-Reverte Gutiérrez (born 25 November 1951 in Cartagena) is a Spanish novelist and journalist. He worked as a war correspondent for RTVE for 21 years (1973–1994). His first novel, ''El húsar'', set in the Napoleonic Wars, was ...

, '' The Adventures of Captain Alatriste'' (). The film, which stars

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. R (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and multimedia artist. Born and raised in the State of New York to a Danish father and American mother, he also lived in Argenti ...

, is the second most expensive

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the ...

film ever made in Spain (about €24 million – US$30 million); only preceded by ''

Agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order o ...

''. It portrays Spain of the 17th century using both fictional and real characters.

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

has bought the rights to the film. The film was released on 1 September 2006.

Plot

The story takes place during the 17th century in the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

. Diego Alatriste is a soldier in the service of

King Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...

. The story begins in the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands ( Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the ...

, where his ''

tercio A ''tercio'' (; Spanish for " third") was a military unit of the Spanish Army during the reign of the Spanish Habsburgs in the early modern period. The tercios were renowned for the effectiveness of their battlefield formations, forming the ...

'' fights in the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...

. His friend Lope Balboa is killed during the fighting, and Alatriste returns to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

where he takes Lope's young son Íñigo into his care. Alatriste is hired along with a Sicilian assassin named Gualterio Malatesta to kill the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

(the future

King Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

) and his companion, the

Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham. ...

. The job is contracted by Emilio Bocanegra and Luis de Alquézar (uncle of Íñigo's love interest, Angélica de Alquézar). Alatriste finally returns to the Netherlands in 1624 (although the movie states 1625) and participates in the final battles leading to Breda's surrender. After returning to Spain, Íñigo wants to elope with Angélica, but she gets cold feet at the last moment. Alatriste has a romance with actress María de Castro. Because she was disappointed that she failed to marry him, she became the lover of Philip IV. Alatriste ends up crossing swords with Guadalmedina, a friend of the king. In the end, the object of their attention falls ill with

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, a ...

. The duel with his friend Martín Saldaña and the punishment of Íñigo in the galleys are part of the film's spectacular ending. The last scenes are at the

Battle of Rocroi The Battle of Rocroi, fought on 19 May 1643, was a major engagement of the Thirty Years' War between a French army, led by the 21-year-old Duke of Enghien (later known as the Great Condé) and Spanish forces under General Francisco de Melo ...

(May 1643), described in the last book of '' The Adventures of Captain Alatriste'' saga. During the battle, Abel Moreno Gómez's " La Madrugá" is playing as the defeated army's march and this is where it is assumed that Alatriste dies. The plot of the film has elements from each of the five books published up to the premiere, and it maintains the same storyline for the main characters. It includes excerpts from the future books of the saga.

Cast

Antonio Resines Antonio Fernández Resines (born 7 August 1954) professionally known as Antonio Resines, is a Spanish film and television actor known for his performance in comedy films and series. Biography He was born 'by accident' on 7 August 1954 in Tor ...

, originally slated to appear as Saldaña, almost retired from the entire movie due to a traffic accident; however, he makes a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in the

as a

musketeer A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pr ...

officer.

Awards and nominations

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Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

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21st Goya Awards The 21st Annual Goya Awards took place at the Palacio Municipal de Congresos in Madrid, Spain on 28 January 2007. ''Volver ''Volver'' (, meaning "to go back") is a 2006 Spanish comedy-drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. The ...

, , colspan = "2" ,

, , , , rowspan = "15" , , - ,

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

, , Viggo Mortensen , , , - , Best Director , , Agustín Díaz Yanes , , , - ,

Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, , Agustín Díaz Yanes , , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , Juan Echanove , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Ariadna Gil , , , - , Best Production Supervision , , Cristina Zumárraga , , , - , Best Original Score , , Roque Baños , , , - , Best Art Direction , , Benjamín Fernández , , , - , Best Costume Design , , Francesca Sartori , , , - , Best Cinematography , , , , , - , Best Editing , , José Salcedo , , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , , José Luis Pérez , , , - , Best Sound , , Dominique Hennequin, Patrice Grisolet, Pierre Gamet , , , - , Best Special Effects , , Reyes Abades, Rafael Solorzano , , , - , 16th Actors and Actresses Union Awards , , Best Film Actor in a Minor Role , , Javier Cámara , , , ,

References

External links

* *
Official Arturo Pérez-Reverte's website
{{Authority control 2006 films 2000s historical drama films 2000s war drama films 2000s action drama films Films based on historical novels Films based on military novels Films based on romance novels Films based on Spanish novels Films based on works by Arturo Pérez-Reverte Films set in the 17th century Films set in Spain Films set in the Netherlands Films shot in Madrid Spanish action drama films Historical action films Spanish epic films Spanish historical drama films Spanish war drama films 2000s Spanish-language films Spanish swashbuckler films Films scored by Roque Baños Films directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes 2006 drama films Films produced by Álvaro Augustin Works based on Spanish novels 2000s Spanish films