''Banderas, the Tyrant'' () is a 1993 drama film directed by

José Luis García Sánchez José Luis García Sánchez (born 22 September 1941) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer. He has directed 30 films since 1968. He wrote for the 1973 film '' Habla, mudita'', which was entered into the 23rd Berlin Internation ...

. It is an adaptation of the 1926 novel ''Tirano Banderas'' by

Ramón María del Valle-Inclán Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramón (footballer, born 1950), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1988), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Br ...

. It was produced by companies from Spain, Cuba and Mexico. It stars

Gian Maria Volonté Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor and activist. He is best known for his roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), El Indio in Leone's ''For a ...

as the title character, also featuring

Ana Belén María del Pilar Cuesta Acosta (born 27 May 1951), known professionally as Ana Belén, is a Spanish actress and singer. She and her husband are considered symbols of the Spanish Transition, and her songs and albums often feature boldly-titled ...

Juan Diego Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474–1548), also known simply as Juan Diego (), was a Nahua peasant and Marian visionary. He is said to have been granted apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe on four occasions in December 1531: three at the hill o ...

, Fernando Guillén,

Ignacio López Tarso Ignacio López Tarso (born Ignacio López López; 15 January 1925 – 11 March 2023) was a Mexican actor of stage, film and television. He acted in about 50 films and appeared in documentaries and in one short feature. In 1973 he was given the ...

and Javier Gurruchaga.

Plot

An adaptation of the (often presented as "unadaptable") novel ''Tirano Banderas'', a standout work of the ''

esperpento Esperpento denotes a literary style in Spanish literature first established by Spanish author Ramón María del Valle-Inclán that uses distorted descriptions of reality in order to criticize society. Leading themes include death, the grotesque, an ...

'' genre which underpins a criticism of abuses of power, the plot tracks the developments in the fictitious republic of Santa Fe de Tierra Firme, ruled by megalomaniac dictator Santos Banderas. The dictator has been noted to display an amalgamation of features from real dictators such as

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until his assassination in May 1961 ...

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, Grandee, GE (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a Spanish dictator and military officer who ruled as prime minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during the last years of the Resto ...

Juan Vicente Gómez Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general, politician and '' de facto'' ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He only officially served as president on three occasions d ...

Cast

Production

Featuring an ambitious budget of 450 million ₧, the film was produced by Ion Films S. A. with the collaboration of Iberoamericana Films Producción S. A., Atrium Productions S. A., Promociones Audiovisuales Reunidas S. A.,

Antena 3 Televisión Antena 3 (''Antena Tres'') is a Spanish terrestrial television channel part of Atresmedia, of which it is the flagship station. Its current headquarters are located in San Sebastián de los Reyes. Some of the most popular programmes broadcast b ...

, ICAIC and Cinematográfica del Prado. It was shot in 1993 in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

(

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

Release

The 50th Venice International Film Festival ruled out the film for its official competition. It screened as the only Spanish film in competition at the

Valladolid International Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

(Seminci) in October 1993, where it met polarizing opinions. The film had a limited theatrical release in Galicia before the end of the year just so it could become eligible for the

8th Goya Awards The 8th Goya Awards were presented in Madrid on 21 January 1994. ''Todos a la cárcel'' (''Everyone Off to Jail'') won the award for best film. Winners and nominees Major award nominees Other award nominees Honorary Goya * Tony Leblanc ...

, where it won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay and 5 additional awards in technical categories. It had a wide theatrical release in Spain on 14 January 1994.

Awards and nominations

, - , align = "center" , 1993 , , 38th

Valladolid Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

, , Best Actor , , Gian Maria Volonté , , , , , - , align = "center" rowspan = "7" , 1994 , , rowspan = "7" ,

, , Best Adapted Screenplay , , José Luis García Sánchez, Rafael Azcona , , , , rowspan = "7" , , - , Best Supporting Actor , , Javier Gurruchaga , , , - , Best Editing , , Pablo del Amo , , , - ,

Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...

, , Félix Murcia , , , - , Best Production Supervision , , José Luis García Arrojo , , , - , Best Costume Design , , Andrea D'Odorico , , , - , Best Makeup and Hairstyles , , Magdalena Álvarez, Solange Aumaitre , ,

References