Al Sur de Grenada (2003) from Tuna

This film is also called South from Grenada.


Al Sur de Granada is a biopic of Gerald Brenan, one of the Bloomsbury Group, which was sort of a randy round table consisting of members of the British intelligensia in Le Belle Epoque. Brenan was one of the suitors of Dora Carrington, the lifelong (platonic) companion of author Lytton Strachey.

NUDITY REPORT

Verónica Sánchez got completely naked repeatedly, and we also had full frontal and rear nudity from Sauce Ena, and breasts and buns from Bebe Rebolledo.

When it became obvious that his infatuation with Dora was causing trouble, Gerald walked to southern Spain and became Don Geraldo, figuring adventure was the next best thing to having Carrington. Spain was as exotic as he could afford. He embraced the culture, fell in love with a poor but beautiful girl, and got her pregnant. He understood and embraced the Spanish culture to such an extent that he is a still considered a very popular historical character there.

He returned to England when he heard that Lytton Strachey was very ill. Strachey's death was followed by Carrington's suicide, so Don Geraldo didn't return to Spain for three years, and when he did, he had an English wife in tow.

Currently available only on Region 2 DVD, only in Spain.
Unlike Carrington, which I found boring as hell, this film was made as a lively comedy, and showed some of the lusty spirit that was central to the Bloomsbury group. It also was beautifully filmed. This was a biopic that is not only strong technically, but also has entertainment value, hence a strong B-.

The Critics Vote ...

  • It was nominated for five Goyas, winning for best original score.

The People Vote ...

  • It has not been released in the USA, either into theaters or on home media. It grossed about 2.5 million dollars in Spain.
The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. (C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by genre fans, while C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie although genre addicts find it watchable). D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-.

Based on this description, this is a B-. Lively and entertaining for a biopic.

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