''Course Completed'' () is a 1987 Spanish

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written, produced and directed by

José Luis Garci José Luis García Muñoz (born 20 January 1944), known professionally as José Luis Garci, is a Spanish film director, Film, producer, critic, TV presenter, screenwriter and author. One of the most influential film personalities in the history o ...

. The film was an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominee for Best Foreign Language Film at the

60th Academy Awards The 60th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on April 11, 1988, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PDT. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented ...

Synopsis

Following the failure of his latest work and the departure of his wife, José Manuel Alcántara decides to leave

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

for

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

in pursuit of a quiet life as a radio and press collaborator. However, his past mistakes will resurface, including his rocker son and a former love interest.

Cast

Jesús Puente Jesús Puente Alzaga (18 December 1930 – 26 October 2000) was a Spanish actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1957 to 2000. In 1954 he represented ''The Taming of the Shrew'' of William Shakespeare at the Teatre Grec. Select ...

as José Manuel Alcántara *

Victoria Vera Victoria Vera is a census-designated place (CDP) in Starr County, Texas, United States. It is a new CDP, formed from part of the former La Casita-Garciasville CDP prior to the 2010 census, with a population of 110. Geography Victoria Vera is ...

as Elena Álvarez *

Teresa Gimpera Teresa Gimpera i Flaquer (21 September 1936 – 23 July 2024) was a Spanish film and television actress and model of the 1960s and 1970s. Biography Teresa Gimpera Flaquer was born in Igualada, province of Barcelona, on 21 September 1936. Her ...

as Lola * Eduardo Hoyo as Edi * Pastor Serrador as Bit part *

Ana Rosa Quintana Ana Rosa Quintana Hortal (born 12 January 1956) is a Spanish journalist and television presenter. Having originally started out in radio, she rose to fame on Antena 3's daytime chat show ''Sabor a ti''. She later jumped ship to Telecinco to h ...

as Ana Rosa Quintana * Manuel Lorenzo * Pablo Hoyos * Santiago Amón * Juan Cueto * Silverio Cañada *

José Manuel Fernández José Manuel Fernández Reyes (born 18 November 1989 in Córdoba, Andalusia) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to st ...

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 ''Mar ...

* Andrés Presumido * Fernando P. Pieri as New Year's Eve concert announcer * Joaquín Carballino * Pedro Infanzón * Primitivo Rojas as Radio advertisement announcer

Production

The project stemmed from a conversation with former football player and then-manager of

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

, and from a sentence he wrote at the Reconquista Hotel in

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

before presenting the Premios Princesa de Asturias de las Artes award to

Luis García Berlanga Luis García-Berlanga Martí Medal of Merit in Labour, MMT (12 June 1921 – 13 November 2010) was a Spanish film director and screenwriter. Acclaimed as a pioneer of modern Spanish cinema, his films are marked by social satire and acerbic criti ...

: "In my life, there have always been two days left, two completely useless days, yesterday and tomorrow." Garci had stated he wouldn't make any more films until José María Calviño resigned as Director-General of

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española (''Spanish Radio and Television'', RTVE), is the Spanish national public Broadcasting, television and radio broadcaster. It is a state-owned enterprise f ...

or relented, and a few days later, he initiated the project. Filming took place between November 2nd and December 23rd, 1986, in Asturias, particularly in the city of

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...

. The film had a budget of 150 million pesetas. Actress

Encarna Paso María de la Encarnación Paso Ramos (25 March 1929 – 18 August 2019), better known as Encarna Paso, was a Spanish film and television actress. Biography Daughter of playwright Antonio Paso Díaz, granddaughter of Antonio Paso y Cano and n ...

couldn't participate due to her commitments in the theater; the role was filled by Teresa Gimpera.

Awards

The film was an

nominee as Best Foreign Film. Garci won the

Goya Award The Goya Awards () are Spain's main national annual film awards. They are presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain. The first ceremony was held in 1987, a year after the founding of the Academy of Cinematographic Ar ...

as Best Director.

References

External links