Belle Époque (film)

Belle Époque is a 1992 Spanish comedy-drama film directed by Fernando Trueba. Consisting of a fable-like story, primarily displaying a warm tone, and set in an idyllic countryside location during the transition to the Second Spanish Republic, the film features Jorge Sanz, Maribel Verdú, Ariadna Gil, Penélope Cruz, Miriam Díaz Aroca, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Gabino Diego and Chus Lampreave, among others.

It received the Goya Award for Best Film along with eight other Goya Awards and was named Best Foreign Language Film at the 66th Academy Awards. It is a joint production among companies from Spain, Portugal and France.

Plot
In February 1931, some weeks after the failed Jaca uprising and the likewise failed Sublevación del aeródromo de Cuatro Vientos, Spain is on the verge of the proclamation of the Second Republic. Fernando, a deserting private with Republican leanings and former seminarist, is on the run from his assignment at the Cuatro Vientos base. After escaping from two Guardia Civil officers, he reaches the outskirts of a village, befriending Manolo, an old man with a semblance of a "Dickensian observer of life". Manolo owns a large house in the countryside, where Fernando stays for a while. Upon the arrival of Manolo's four daughters in a train, Fernando is enchanted by them all. As he meets each of the first three one by one, he falls in love and has sex with each of them, determining to marry. With each one, however, a complication arises: Clara, a widow who only recently lost her husband and who seeks solace with Fernando; Violeta, a lesbian who is attracted to Fernando only when he is dressed as a woman for a costume ball and Rocío, a social climber who is about to marry to Juanito into the village's richest family (with Carlist leanings) for the security it would provide and who only momentarily succumbs to Fernando's charms. Heartbroken each time, the father of the girls encourages Fernando to have patience. Each daughter is beautiful and represents a different aspect of feminine sexuality. The youngest of the family, Luz, represents naïveté. While Fernando is pursuing her sisters, Luz gets progressively angry and jealous. Eventually, Fernando realizes, however, that Luz is the best one of the four to marry.

Production
A Spanish-Portuguese-French co-production, Belle Époque was produced by Fernando Trueba PC, Lola Films, Animatógrafo, and French Production with the collaboration of Sogepaq and Eurimages. The film was shot in the summer of 1992 in several villages of Portugal.

Box office
In Spain, it was the highest-grossing Spanish film of 1992 with a gross of over 725 million Spanish pesetas ($5.58 million). In the United States and Canada it grossed $6 million for a worldwide gross more than $11 million. The film was theatrically released in Spain on 4 December 1992.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 22 reviews, with an average score of 7.4/10. The film is mentioned in the 2010 American film The Fighter.

Year-end lists

 * Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Mike Mayo, The Roanoke Times
 * Honorable mentions – Mike Clark, USA Today

Accolades

 * align = "center" rowspan = "18" | 1993 || 43rd Berlin International Film Festival || colspan = "2" | Golden Bear || Nominated ||
 * rowspan = "17" | 7th Goya Awards || colspan = "2" | Best Film || Won || rowspan = "17" |
 * Best Director || Fernanro Trueba || Won
 * Best Original Screenplay || Fernando Trueba José Luis García Sánchez, Rafael Azcona || Won
 * Best Actress || Ariadna Gil || Won
 * Best Actor || Jorge Sanz || Nominated
 * rowspan = "2" | Best Supporting Actress || Chus Lampreave || Won
 * Mary Carmen Ramírez || Nominated
 * rowspan = "2" | Best Supporting Actor || Fernando Fernán-Gómez || Won
 * Gabino Diego || Nominated
 * Best Cinematography || José Luis Alcaine || Won
 * Best Editing || Carmen Frías || Won
 * Best Art Direction || Juan Botella || Won
 * Best Production Supervision || Cristina Huete || Nominated
 * Best Costume Design || Lala Huete || Nominated
 * Best Makeup and Hairstyles || Ana Ferreira, Ana Lorena || Nominated
 * Best Original Score || Antoine Duhamel || Nominated
 * Best Sound || Alfonso Pino, Georges Prat || Nominated
 * align = "center" | 1994 || 66th Academy Awards || colspan = "2" | Best Foreign Language Film || Won
 * align = "center" | 1995 || 48th British Academy Film Awards || colspan = "2" | BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language || Nominated ||
 * }
 * Best Cinematography || José Luis Alcaine || Won
 * Best Editing || Carmen Frías || Won
 * Best Art Direction || Juan Botella || Won
 * Best Production Supervision || Cristina Huete || Nominated
 * Best Costume Design || Lala Huete || Nominated
 * Best Makeup and Hairstyles || Ana Ferreira, Ana Lorena || Nominated
 * Best Original Score || Antoine Duhamel || Nominated
 * Best Sound || Alfonso Pino, Georges Prat || Nominated
 * align = "center" | 1994 || 66th Academy Awards || colspan = "2" | Best Foreign Language Film || Won
 * align = "center" | 1995 || 48th British Academy Film Awards || colspan = "2" | BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language || Nominated ||
 * }
 * Best Original Score || Antoine Duhamel || Nominated
 * Best Sound || Alfonso Pino, Georges Prat || Nominated
 * align = "center" | 1994 || 66th Academy Awards || colspan = "2" | Best Foreign Language Film || Won
 * align = "center" | 1995 || 48th British Academy Film Awards || colspan = "2" | BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language || Nominated ||
 * }
 * align = "center" | 1994 || 66th Academy Awards || colspan = "2" | Best Foreign Language Film || Won
 * align = "center" | 1995 || 48th British Academy Film Awards || colspan = "2" | BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language || Nominated ||
 * }
 * }