In 1939, in a French prison camp, José Garcés of the defeated Spanish Republican army raises the spirits of his fellow prisoners by telling the story of the year he was 8 years old, 1911, in a small town in northeastern Spain. He was a rascal, baffling his father, always in trouble, and in love with Valentina, a neighbor girl. On his roof top at night he sends semaphore messages to her. He writes poems. He gets them into trouble, killing her father's breeding pigeons. When the two families camp at a decaying castle, his tutor, a sympathetic priest, tells him about the most valiant men, the saints, the heroes, and the poets. Already a poet, he learns a lesson about being a hero.
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Cast
23 people
Anthony Quinn
Mosen Joaquín
Known for
Lawrence of Arabia
Jesus of Nazareth
Jorge Sanz
Pepe
Known for
Belle Époque
The Neighbor
Paloma Gómez
Valentina
Also in
Segunda Enseñanza
Tata Mía
María Rubio
Valentina adulta
Known for
Una familia con suerte
Salomé
Saturno Cerra
Don José
Known for
Murder Mansion
Concha Leza
Doña Luisa
Also in
Outrage
Goya in Bordeaux
Alfred Lucchetti
Don Arturo
Known for
Black Candles
Navajeros
Marisa de Leza
Doña Julia
Known for
Alexander the Great
Eusebio Poncela
Narrador
Known for
Law of Desire
Intacto
Concha Hidalgo
Tía Ignacia
Known for
Goya's Ghosts
Finding Altamira
Luis Ciges
Médico
Known for
The Miracle of P. Tinto
Who Can Kill a Child?
Emilio Fornet
Pastor
Also in
Teresa de Jesús
La Máscara Negra
Antonio José Betancor Director · Lautaro Murúa Writer Carlos Escobedo Writer
First release November 12, 1982 · Produced in Spain · Production Kaktus Producciones Cinematográficas, TVE
Production
Ofelia Films
Production
Kaktus Producciones Cinematográficas
Production
TVE
Production
Spain
Produced in
Languages
Original language
Spanish
Spoken on screen
Spanish
Release dates
Spain · November 12, 1982
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
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Some details come from TheTVDB.