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| Is this beautiful young child capable of murder? |
Conceived, written and directed by Carlos Saura, who
was considered one of Spain’s great opponent’s of the Franco regime, Cria cuerios
(1976) can be seen as a parable of the downfall of the Dictator and how a sense
of freedom came about during the final days of his fascist regime. The story
centers on an upper class Spanish family who live in a very large house in
central Madrid surrounded by a high walled garden. The main character is 8 year
old Ana and when the film opens we witness her father in bed with his beautiful
mistress Amelia (Mirta Miller), but before he can fulfill the main reason he’s
there he suffers a heart attack and dies. Ana believes she has succeeded in
poisoning her cold authoritarian father (Héctor Alterio), a high-ranking
military man whom she blames for the death of her much-adored mother whom he ill-treated
and was continually unfaithful to. Now being brought up, along with her two
sisters, by her sour faced Aunt Paulina (Mónica Randall) her only friend and
confidant is the family maid Rosa (Florinda Chico). With little guidance and
supervision, the children retreat into an insular world of their own.
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| The sour faced Aunt. |
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| The dying Mother. |
A very effective drama beautifully told and
photographed from a child’s viewpoint giving the finished product a somewhat
hauntingly fantasied feel. The character of Ana, who is the one that really
suffers in this deeply affecting portrait of innocence, death and grief, is
played as the 8 year old by Ana Torrent previously seen in The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) another Spanish film that focuses
on a young girl who has a fascination with the 1931 American movie
Frankenstein. It’s her beautiful but melancholy looks that seem to portray the
hope and fear of an approaching new political era in Spanish politics. She
really was a gifted young actress, seen later in her career acting along side
Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson in The
Other Boleyn Girl (2008). When asked
to describe the nature of Ana's suffering, the director, Carlos Saura replied: Cria cuervos is a sad film, yes. But that's
part of my belief that childhood is one of the most terrible parts in the life
of a human being. What I'm trying to say is that at that age you've no idea
where it is you are going, only that people are taking you somewhere, leading
you, pulling you and you are frightened. You don't know where you're going or
whom you are or what you are going to do. It's a time of terrible indecision.
Geraldine Chapman, who was Saura’s common law wife for twelve years, plays dual
roles: Ana’s mother and Ana as a young woman.
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| Sisters left to their own devices. |
Released at a time when Spain was just coming out of
40 years of Fascist rule the film was nominated for a Golden Globe and it
deservedly won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 1977. Interestingly
the title means ‘raise ravens’ from the Spanish proverb "Raise ravens, and they will pluck out your
eyes", and alludes to a child's irrational compulsion for vengeance
and self-destruction.
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