''A Long Return'', also known by the title ''Largo Retorno'' in Spain, is a 1975 Spanish romantic film, directed by

Pedro Lazaga Pedro Lazaga Sabater (3 October 1918 – 30 November 1979) was a Spanish film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 90 films between 1948 and 1979. Selected filmography * ''The Black Siren'' (1947) * '' María Morena'' (1951) ...

Plot

A vibrant young college student, Anna (

Lynne Frederick Lynne Frederick (25 July 1954 – 27 April 1994) was an English actress, film producer, and fashion model. In a career spanning ten years, she made over thirty appearances in film and television productions. Known for her classic English rose b ...

), catches eye of architect, David Ortega ( Mark Burns), at an orchestra show. She quickly falls in love with him and begins to pursue him. Although David is initially hesitant, she eventually wins his love. The two become inseparable and eventually get married. Soon after their

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

honeymoon, Anna begins acting strange; experiencing sudden

fatigue Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...

, grogginess, and

memory loss Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use o ...

(even forgetting her best friend). Eventually Anna is hospitalized and doctors diagnose her condition as

lipomatosis Lipomatosis is believed to be an autosomal dominant condition in which multiple lipomas are present on the body. Many discrete, encapsulated lipomas form on the trunk and extremities, with relatively few on the head and shoulders. In 1993, a gene ...

of the

nervous system In Biology, biology, the nervous system is the Complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its Behavior, actions and Sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its ...

, a rare and deadly disease that is quickly killing her. While in the hospital, with her husband by her bed side, Anna suddenly goes into a state of a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

. Doctors tell David that his wife has less than days to live and he desperately pleads with them for help of any kind. They inform him that Anna's only chance of survival is to put her in a state of perpetual deep cryogenic sedation, which would shut down her body (stopping the disease from spreading), freeze her in time, and prevent her from aging, until a cure can be found, in which event she would be taken out of sedation. With great optimism, David accepts and Anna is put in a state of cryogenic sedation. For forty agonizing and heart aching years, David remains faithful to Anna and waits for a cure to be found. Meanwhile, Anna's friends and family move on with their lives, even as going as far as wanting to pull the plug on her and bury her, as she remains sedated. A cure is finally found in 2014, and she is successfully taken out of sedation and fully cured. When Anna awakens she is kept at the hospital for observations. She repeatedly asks to see her husband, not knowing he is now middle aged and that she has been in sedation for the last forty years. The doctor denies her request. The ice is broken when her best friend, Irene (now well past her 60s), visits her and informs her of what has happened in the last forty years (such events like Anna's parents dying and the inevitable changes David has succumb to with age). When she is released from the hospital, Irene takes her to David, and much to his delight, Anna greets him with overflowing love and affection. Later that night David expresses his trepidation and guilt of the age difference in their relationship. Anna assures David that her love for him is still there, and that it is stronger than ever for him remaining faithful to her. The couple has only a short time together as David dies (possibly of heart failure or old age) a few days later. After David's death, Anna's doctor comes by the house, asking the grief-stricken widow, where she will go from here. She replies, in a sorrowful manner, “Go on living.” Anna then has a flash back to her first date with David when he gave Anna her motto (“Today is the first day of the rest of your life”). She then tearfully glances at the doctor and utters to him “Today is the first day of the rest of my life,” knowing David would want her to go on living her life.

Cast

* Mark Burns ... David Ortega *

... Anna Ortega *

Charo López María del Rosario López Piñuelas (born 28 October 1943) better known as Charo López, is a Spanish actress. Filmography *Plan Jack cero tres (1967) *El hueso (1967) *La vida sigue igual (1969) *Ditirambo (1969) *El extraño caso del doctor ...

... Irene * Ricardo Merino ... Carlos *

George Rigaud Pedro Jorge Rigato Delissetche,George Rigaud

... Doctor Valls *

Andrés Mejuto Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...

... Father of Anna * Mayrata O'Wiesiedo ... Mother of Anna *

Adriano Domínguez Adriano Domínguez Fernández (4 January 1919 – 9 May 2008) was a Spanish film and television actor. He appeared in 150 films between 1945 and 1994. He survived to the terrorist act at California 47 café in 1979 by GRAPO. He died on 9 May 200 ...

... Martin * Cocha Cuetos ... Adela *

Juan Diego Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, also known as Juan Diego (; 1474–1548), was a Chichimec peasant and Marian visionary. He is said to have been granted apparitions of the Virgin Mary on four occasions in December 1531: three at the hill of Tepeyac an ...

... Docteur Aguirre *

Fernando Hilbeck Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

... Doctor Armayor

Production

got the part of Anna largely because she had the ability to cry out of either eye on cue. Due to the production's low budget, many of the outfits that Frederick wore in the film were from her own personal wardrobe. She recycled some of these outfits a year later when she starred in the film '' Schizo'' (1976). Frederick herself did all her own singing for the film's English soundtrack. The songs on the Spanish soundtrack were performed by vocalist, Mariví Navarrete. The film's score never had an official soundtrack release and, like the movie, remains obscure. The film was shot in

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), an ...

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes o ...

and

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

, in 1975.

Release

''A Long Return'' was released in Spain on 26 May 1975. In Italy it was released under the title "A Venezia muore un'estate". One alternate English title it was released under was "A Long Returning".

Home video

The film was only available in the early '80s on PAL Betamax and VHS. It was released in English, Spanish, Italian, and English with Greek subtitles. The film was never available in the US on DVD or VHS. Today the film is out of print and physical copies are near impossible to find anywhere.

Critical reception

Upon release the film received mixed to favorable reviews from critics, who praised Burns's and Frederick's performances but jeered some of the science and medical fiction elements.

Legacy

With the increase of

's new found

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic ...

in recent years, the movie has become a fan favorite and enjoyed a second life on the internet with fans praising Frederick's acting and beauty in the film. Many noting the film as her best work. The film has been frequently associated with Frederick's other Spanish film, ''El Vicio Y La Virtud'' (The Vice and Virtue), which was released the same year. Despite the popular demand for both films, neither have received a DVD release. Mark Burns later stated that this film was one of his favorites from his whole career. But after the film's theatrical run Burns didn't see it again for nearly thirty years. It wasn't until about a few years before his death (in 2007) that an acquaintance of his tracked down the film for him to see, much to his delight.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Long Return, A 1975 films Spanish drama films 1975 romantic drama films Spanish science fiction films Films about diseases Films set in the future Films set in 2014 Films scored by Antón García Abril English-language Spanish films 1970s English-language films