''Manolete'', also known as ''The Passion Within'' in the United Kingdom, ''Blood and Passion'' in Canada, and ''A Matador's Mistress'' in the United States, is a 2008 biopic of

bullfighter A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activity ...

Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez, better known as "Manolete". The film was written and directed by

Menno Meyjes Menno Meyjes (born 1954, Eindhoven) is a Dutch-born screenwriter, film director, and film producer. Meyjes moved to the United States in 1972 and studied at San Francisco Art Institute. He was nominated for several awards for his screenplay to t ...

. This is the first film from

HandMade Films HandMade Films was a British film production and distribution company. Notable films from the studio include '' Monty Python's Life of Brian'', ''Time Bandits'', '' The Long Good Friday'' and ''Withnail and I''. History Foundation HandMade F ...

since ''

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' is a 1998 British black comedy crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, produced by Matthew Vaughn and starring an ensemble cast featuring Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Steven Ma ...

'' (1998).

Plot

The Menno Meyjes directed drama stars

Adrien Brody Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring as Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's '' The Pianist'' (2002), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Acto ...

as Spanish bullfighter

Manolete Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez (4 July 1917 – 29 August 1947), known as Manolete, was a Spanish bullfighter. Career Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez was the son of a bullfighter (who also went by the name Manolete) and his wife An ...

, in a film that covers his late life love affair with actress

Lupe Sino Lupe Sino (March 6, 1917 – September 13, 1959, born Antonia Bronchalo Lopesino) was a Spanish actress. Biography Antonia Bronchalo Lopesino was born on March 6, 1917 in Sayatón, a village in Guadalajara (province), Guadalajara, Spain. She was ...

(

Penélope Cruz Penélope Cruz Sánchez (; ; born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Known for her roles in films of several genres, particularly those in the Spanish language, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British ...

) before he was gored to death in the bull ring. Sino's communist politics turned their affair into a scandal in the early 1940s, especially after discovering her previous marriage to a PCE member. The film begins with Manolete's last day in Linares.

Cast

as Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez, a.k.a. "

" *

as Antoñita "Lupe" Sino *

Santiago Segura Santiago Segura Silva (born 17 July 1965) is a Spanish filmmaker and actor. He also worked to a lesser extent as a television presenter, voice actor and comic book writer, as well as being a collector of original comic books. At 12, he began ...

as Guillermo *

Ann Mitchell Ann Mitchell (born 22 April 1939) is a British stage and television actress. She came to prominence in the 1980s when she starred as Dolly Rawlins in the crime series '' Widows'' as well as the sequels '' Widows 2'' and ''She's Out'', all writt ...

as Doña Angustias * Josep Linuesa as Enrique de Ahumada *

Juan Echanove Juan Echanove Labanda (born 1 April 1961, in Madrid) is a Spanish actor. At Gijón International Film Festival in 2002, he received the Nacho Martínez Award. Selected filmography *'' Manolete'' ( Menno Meyjes, 2008) *''Alatriste'' (Agustín ...

as Pepe Cámara *

Pedro Casablanc Pedro Manuel Ortiz Domínguez (born 1963), best known by his stage name of Pedro Casablanc, is a Moroccan-born actor known for his many stage, film and television performances in Spain. Biography Pedro Manuel Ortiz Domínguez was born in Casabl ...

as General * Tomas Rozzi as the 'dealer' * Nacho Aldeguer as Luis Miguel Dominguín * Diego Martín * Berta de la Dehesa *

Rubén Ochandiano Rubén Ochandiano (born 3 October 1980) is a Spanish actor and director. He has appeared in more than thirty films since 1997. He has worked with some of the most interesting film directors over the world: Pedro Almodovar, Alejandro González I� ...

* Omar Muñoz as young Manolete * Denise Moreno as girl *

Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez Antonio Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez (born January 13, 1977 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish ''torero'' or 'bullfighter'. Family ties Rivera is the son of Francisco Rivera 'Paquirri' and Carmen Ordóñez. He belongs to a long line of famous bullfigh ...

as Torero

Release

The film premiered on 28 August 2008 in the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

. Despite a planned release date of 2007, the film faced several production delays and a spiralling budget. Although it was scheduled for a theatrical release in France on 31 March 2010, Deadline's Mike Fleming reported that, "Even though the film stars two Oscar winners, it never found any takers for a theatrical run." The film has been shelved since 2007. In April 2011 - Xenon Pictures CEO Leigh Savidge announced that on 7 June 2011 Xenon Pictures would release a newly edited version of ''A Matador's Mistress'' on DVD. Gravitas Ventures announced on 14 March 2011 that it has acquired VOD and

digital rights Digital rights are those human rights and legal rights that allow individuals to access, use, create, and publish digital media or to access and use computers, other electronic devices, and telecommunications networks. The concept is particula ...

to ''Manolete''. Gravitas, which is licensing the film from Viva Pictures, plans to release the film on demand via

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

, telco and

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...

in June 2011. "We are confident no one is better positioned to exploit this epic high-value production on a digital platform," said Viva president Victor Elizalde.

Controversy

Although bullfighting scenes were shot expensively without bulls, animal rights activists have encouraged a boycott of the film. Protestors reject what they perceive to be a glamorous image of a matador on film. "It is inadmissible to release a film in which the hero is a matador," said the Alliance Anticorrida, a French anti-bullfighting group, in a message to its 20,000 members. "If they are properly informed, a great number of spectators will avoid this new film.""Animal rights activists condemn bullfighting film Manolete"
''The Telegraph''. 30 March 2010

Filming locations

The film was shot in 2005, four years before Cruz won her Oscar for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. * Córdoba, Spain *

Alcoy Alcoy ( ca-valencia, Alcoi) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 res ...

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

, Spain *

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, Spain * El Puerto de Santa María,

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

, Spain *

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar de Barrameda (), or simply Sanlúcar, is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River opposit ...

, Cádiz, Spain

References

External links

* * *
Adrien Brody discusses preparing for the role with matador Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez in the March 2008 issue of ''Men's Vogue''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manolete (Film) 2008 films 2000s historical drama films Bullfighting films British historical drama films Spanish historical drama films English-language Spanish films 2000s Spanish-language films HandMade Films films Films set in the 1940s Films shot in Madrid Biographical films about sportspeople Cultural depictions of bullfighters Cultural depictions of Spanish men Films shot at Ciudad de la Luz Films scored by Gabriel Yared 2000s English-language films 2000s British films