''Sweet Hours (Dulces horas)'' is a 1982 Spanish film, written and directed by

Carlos Saura Carlos Saura Atarés (4 January 1932 – 10 February 2023) was a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. With Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be among Spain's great filmmakers. He had a long and prolific career th ...

. The title comes from the words ''dulces horas de ayer'' (''sweet hours of yesterday'') in the soundtrack song ''Recordar'' (''To Remember'') sung by the soprano

Imperio Argentina María Magdalena Nile del Río (26 December 1906 – 22 August 2003) was an Argentine professional singer and movie actress, better known as Imperio Argentina; she became a citizen of Spain in 1999. María Magdalena Nile del Río was born ...

Plot

The past is a riddle to Juan, a well-off bachelor playwright aged around 40. He is obsessed by it, by memories of the older father who went off to Argentina with another woman and the lovely young mother who then committed suicide. He has written a play called ''Sweet Hours'', which contains what he recalls as key scenes of his early life. The play is in rehearsal and he attends the sessions, watchful and absorbed. He is searching for something. Juan slips in and out of the acted reconstructions and his own not necessarily reliable memories of childhood during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

and its aftermath. Prodded by his sister Marta, who neither idolised her mother nor was her pampered darling, Juan begins to see that under her beauty and charm his mother was selfish and manipulative, driving her husband away and by her suffocating affection warping her son for life. Berta, the stunning young actress who is rehearsing the role of the mother and with whom he is falling in love, realises that for her and Juan to be happy together she must replace the dead mother. So the past repeats itself, inescapably it seems.

Cast

* Iñaki Aierra : Juan *

Assumpta Serna María Asunción Rodés Serna (born 16 September 1957), better known as Assumpta Serna, is a Spanish actress and author. Born in Barcelona, Serna has performed in 20 countries in six languages and is the recipient of more than 20 international ...

: Berta/ his mother Teresa *

Álvaro de Luna Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava (between 1388 and 13902 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman, favourite of John II of Castile. He served as Constable of Castile and as Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. He earned great influence in ...

: his uncle Pepe * Jacques Lalande : his uncle Antoñito * Alicia Hermida : his aunt Pilar * Luisa Rodrigo : his grandmother * Alicia Sánchez : Olga, the maid * Pedro Sempson : his father *

Isabel Mestres Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

: Marta, his sister * Pablo Hernández Smith : the young Juan, called Juanico * Magdalena García : the young Marta, called Martita

Reception

The film was reviewed by

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...

in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''; " This movie has the kind of subtle obviousness that is generally described as ''literate''. What it comes down to is that Carlos Saura has a feeling for dark, autumnal elegance, and a dexterous technique that he puts at the service of tired ideas. What saves him from pedantry is that his films have occasional moments of erotic vibrancy. Scenes that aren't explicitly sexual in content are sexualized, so that they become ambiguous and disturbing - even haunting...In a Saura film, something more directly sexual is often impending; it hovers in the atmosphere. ..the wide-eyed Assumpta Serna, when she smiles, has a teasing elusiveness..She makes the atmosphere hum..perhaps Saura means us to see that the cycle is inescapable..The enigma of Saura is his addiction to enigma." Pauline Kael ''

Taking It All In ''Taking It All In'' is the seventh collection of movie reviews by the critic Pauline Kael and contains the 150 film reviews she wrote for ''The New Yorker'' between June 9, 1980, and June 13, 1983. She writes in the Author's Note at the beginnin ...

'' p. 409-411

References

External links

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New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

review {{Carlos Saura Spanish drama films Films directed by Carlos Saura 1982 films 1980s Spanish-language films 1982 drama films Spanish-language drama films