Alice Guy was not only the first woman film director, but she may have been the first film director. She also directed the first regular series of sound films, mostly music hall acts in 1905 and 1906. With this movie she bids fair to being one of the first directors of a film travelogue.
Earlier efforts were usually shots of specific locations with an unmoving camera. The Lumieres had set the style. However, with this film, Madame Guy puts together shots from several different places in Spain. In Madrid at Puerta del Sol, The Prado, The Fountains of Cybele and the Palacio Real; In Granada with views of the Sierra Nevada, and the Alhambra; in Seville, looking across the Guadalquivir River; and the Montserrat Monastery in Barcelona. The picture ends with a three minute gypsy dance. Finally, if you look, you can see Madame Guy, dressed in black with children.
Although the Lumieres had set the style, Madame Guy was more venturesome. Except for the dance sequence, the scenes are shot with a track shot to offer the viewer a wider panorama. For 1905 it is an elaborate production and important because of the long history of travelogues in the movies.
