Death in Granada

I didn't know much about Garcia Lorca or Spanish history; I was interested in this movie just because some of my favorite actors are in it.

The plot itself is not very intriguing, and the main character can hardly keep one's interest to keep on watching. But I'm glad I saw the film because of its incredible camera work. Most of the scenes were so beautifully lit and filmed that I could not get my eyes off the screen.

So, if you're interested in Spanish history or Garcia Lorca, this is a must. If you like to see films with excellent camera work, this is also a must.

For everyone else: forget it.

All in all: 6 out of 10.

Ricardo Fernandez (Esai Morales) and his family escaped the Spanish Civil War to Pueto Rico 18 years ago. He wants to write about his childhood hero political writer Federico Garcia Lorca (Andy Garcia). He goes back to Spain to investigate Lorca's disappearance despite his father's concerns. As a child in Granada, Ricardo brought his family to Lorca's play. It is the start of the Spanish Civil War and Lorca is seen as a leftist agitator. Young Ricardo is taken with the charismatic Lorca.

This is an interesting historical drama. There is a bit of melodrama. The acting is good for the most part. It may be more compelling to concentrate more on Lorca and his life instead of the back and forth between the two time lines. It may also have more tension if the movie doesn't basically give away Lorca's end right from the start. I don't know anything about the real life of Lorca and it's nice to get a version of it here. The location shoots don't hurt either.

Though the costumes are nice, the movie is just too slow and muddled. I never get the feeling of Lorca's greatness from Garcia's acting. James Olmos is adequate, but not much else helps this to be a gripping story. I wanted to know a lot more about why Lorca was chosen to die. I don't think that the writers or directors put this across well.

I did not find this movie interesting at all, and I will try to give my reasons: firstly the movie was totally miscast. Ask anybody familiar with Spanish literature, and you will be told that Andy Garcia is quite unconvincing as that giant Garcia Lorca , for instance when reciting the fanmous "Death at 5 o'clock".The other personages don't do any better.Secondly, poor directing has turned it into a B,pseudo film noir, rather than a serious political thriller, and last but not least,since I saw it in the mutilated TV size Video I missed much of supposedly good cinematography.I hope somebody sometime will make a more dramatic film about the life of this great human being.

Like the very mixed reviews one finds here, this movie struck me as a curious mix of bad, clunky acting and directing and poignant, even haunting , moments. It's as if the movie had a talented script writer and poor director...but probably vice versa. The basic story line - a young fan returns decades later to try to discover the truth of Lorca's death - is artificial and implausible,while the depiction of the violence and ambiguities of Spanish Civil War is most effective.I watched it with interest, while at times I couldn't imagine how such a bad scene could have made on film in an apparently serious movie. Overall worth watching but be forewarned....