El portero (2000)

Director:

Gonzalo Suárez

Writers:

Manuel Hidalgo (story)
Gonzalo Suárez (writer)

Release Date:

8 September 2000 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Civil War | Female Nudity | Soccer | Nationalism

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Carmelo Gómez	...	Forteza
Maribel Verdú	...	Manuela
Antonio Resines	...	Sargento Andrade
Roberto Álvarez	...	Don Constantino
Eduard Fernández	...	Nardo
Elvira Mínguez	...	Úrsula
Abel Vitón	...	Doctor
Andoni Gracia	...	Emilio
Julio Vélez	...	López
Adrian Ramirez	...	Tito
Mario Martín	...	Lisardo
Felipe Vélez	...	Concojo
Carolina Bona	...	Felisa
Alex O'Dogherty	...	Orozco
José Alias	...	Buhonero
Benjamín Seva	...	Jacinto
Anartz Zuazua	...	Pepín
José Coromina	...	Gitano (as José Colomina)
Elena Figueroa	...	La Pastora
Arlette L. Santoyo	...	Obdulia
Gonzalo E. de José	...	Falangista
Carlos E. Casero	...	Maquis #1
José Antonio Lobato	...	Maquis #2 (as José A. Lobato)

Directed by
Gonzalo Suárez

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Manuel Hidalgo		story "El Portero"
Gonzalo Suárez		writer

Produced by
Andrés Vicente Gómez	....	producer
Marco Gómez	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Carles Cases

Cinematography by
Carlos Suárez

Film Editing by
Juan Carlos Arroyo

Art Direction by
Wolfgang Burmann

Set Decoration by
Javier Mampaso

Costume Design by
Lala Huete

Makeup Department
María Amaro	....	assistant makeup artist: second unit
Manolo Carretero	....	hair stylist
Jorge Hernández	....	makeup artist
Alfonso Martínez	....	hair stylist: second unit
Lucía Orengo	....	assistant makeup artist
Teresa Rabal	....	makeup artist: second unit

Production Management
Luisa García	....	production manager
Óscar González	....	second assistant production manager
Santiago Mato	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Javier Balaguer	....	assistant director
Jorge Calvo	....	second assistant director
Rubén Colsa	....	second second assistant director
Nacho Fernández de Tejada	....	second second assistant director (as Ignacio Fernández de Tejada)
Jorge Mora	....	second second assistant director
José Miguel Real	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Leopoldo Báez	....	props (as Leo Baez)
Salvador Comes	....	painter
José Fillola	....	construction coordinator
Ricardo García	....	assistant props
Pepín	....	assistant decorator
Elsa Suárez	....	set decorator trainee
Teo Vila	....	property master
Juan Ignacio Viñuales	....	props

Sound Department
José Antonio Bermúdez	....	sound mixer
Luis Castro	....	sound effects
Ángel Gallardo	....	dialogue recordist
Antonio García	....	sound effects recordist
Carlos Garrido	....	sound mixing technician
Fabio Huete	....	boom operator
Iván Mayoral	....	dialogue recordist
James Muñoz	....	sound editor
David Rodríguez	....	sound assistant
Antonio Rodríguez 'Mármol'	....	direct sound (as Antonio Rodríguez)
José Luis Vázquez	....	assistant sound editor
Ricardo Viñas	....	sound stereo consultant: Dolby

Special Effects by
Reyes Abades	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Félix Bergés	....	digital effects: Esfera (as Félix Berges)
Jorge Calvo	....	digital artist: title sequence, MADPIX Company
Pablo Núñez	....	optical effects: Story Film

Camera and Electrical Department
Rupert Ananda	....	second assistant camera
Francesc Brualla	....	gaffer
Luis Miguel Daza	....	electrician
Diego Escribano	....	key grip
Ángel Gómez	....	electrician
Alfredo González	....	electrician
Igor Iglesias	....	video assist operator
Juan Leyva	....	assistant camera (as Juan Leiva)
Quim Llenas	....	still photographer
Emiliano Merino	....	best boy electric
Cristina Noé	....	assistant camera
Pablo Paredes	....	second camera operator: second unit
Félix Pascual	....	best boy electric
Chus Rambal	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Andrés Sánchez	....	electrician
Lalo Suárez	....	second assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Raquel del Val	....	second assistant costume designer
Lena Mossum	....	assistant costume designer
Eva Salas	....	wardrobe
Macarena Soto	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Francisco Amaro Gómez	....	second assistant editor
Vanessa Marimbert	....	assistant editor

Music Department
David Casamitjana	....	music recording engineer
Carles Cases	....	orchestra conductor: Gonçal Comellas Orquesta

Transportation Department
José Luis Cruz	....	driver: production car
Raúl Lebeña	....	driver: production car
Santiago Millán	....	driver: crew bus
Javier Montero	....	driver: Seur
José Luis Pérez	....	driver: crew bus

Other crew
Piti Alonso	....	press
Francisco Amaro	....	administrator
María José Barba	....	secretary
Javier Bellot	....	press
Giles Bones	....	press
Patricia Bonet	....	production secretary
Catalina Cabrera	....	script supervisor
Juan Campos	....	production coordinator
Sol Fernández Gimeno	....	catering
José Fernández	....	accountant
Salvi García	....	press
Juan Gatti	....	title designer
Antonio López	....	production assistant
Pablo Núñez	....	title designer: end titles, Story Film
David Sánchez	....	press

Thanks
Jorge Raúl Alonso	....	thanks
José Benito	....	thanks
Marcelino Buendía	....	thanks
Jesús Gutiérrez	....	thanks
Juan José Llamazares	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Lolafilms
• Televisión Española (TVE)
• Vía Digital

Distributors

• Filmauro Distribuzione
• Lolafilms Distribución (Spain)
• Ventura Entertainment LLC

Other Companies

• Filmigranas  post-production sound
• Movicam S.A.  grip equipment
• Story Film  titles

Also Known As:

The Goalkeeper (International: English title) (literal title)

MPAA:

Rated R for a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Asturias, Spain

Company:

Lolafilms

Soundtrack:

Ambiente de noche

In the splendid scenery of Asturias

Gonzalo Suárez has only really stood out in his superb TV adaptation of "Los Pazos de Ulloa" based on the novel by Emilia Pardo Bazán, and going by what other light fare he has produced to date, I did not expect much from "El Portero".

Which is what I got.

I cannot help thinking that if you get a bit stuck with the same old faces over and over again, your credibility wanes, to such a degree that you begin to question casting criteria. Carmelo Gómez seemed off key, and Antonio Resines has made a few films - not many - which are worth remembering, but above all seems to go in for more trivial matters. Together with Maribel Verdú and Elvira Mínguez - probably the best in this film - the cast would suggest being something like being called attractive. However, something failed to click; maybe because the film was on too late at night; maybe I have already seen too many films harking back to the Franco era.......

A supposedly famous goalkeeper from Madrid whose claim to fame stems from having stopped nine successive penalty kicks in league matches, turns up in the middle of beautiful post civil war Asturias, and gets entangled with the "maquis".

The "maquis" were groups of men, with a few women, who took to the mountains after the civil war, dedicating their time to blowing up or sabotaging anything which would upset the Franco régime. These groups mostly operated in Asturias, but also in Euskadi (Basque Country), Navarra, Cantabria (Santander) and a few in Galicia. To get an idea of their operations you might like to read Hemingway's novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls" set in the "sierras" north of Madrid, and also turned into a film. A few isolated "maquis" were still operating well into the 1960s. They lived on what they could hunt, what local people gave them, or what they stole.

The story being enacted just did not appeal to me very much and I could not suppress several yawns amid yearnings to tuck myself into bed just as soon as possible.

Magnificent photography in the splendour of Asturias, which alone made it worth while keeping with the film to the end credits.