The Detective and Death

The Detective and Death
Theatrical release poster
Spanish	El detective y la muerte
Directed by	Gonzalo Suárez
Screenplay by	Gonzalo Suárez Azucena Rodríguez
Based on	"The Story of a Mother" by Hans Christian Andersen
Produced by	Andrés Vicente Gómez
Starring	Javier Bardem Maria de Medeiros Mapi Galán Héctor Alterio Carmelo Gómez Paulina Gálvez
Cinematography	Carlos Suárez
Edited by	José Salcedo
Music by	Suso Saiz
Production companies	LolaFilms Ditirambo Films
Release dates	22 September 1994 (1994-09-22) (SSIFF) 30 September 1994 (1994-09-30) (Spain)

The Detective and Death^[1] (Spanish: El detective y la muerte) is a 1994 Spanish thriller film directed by Gonzalo Suárez.^[2][3]

Plot

Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Story of a Mother", it is set in a fictional European city stirred by racial conflicts (in lieu of the forest from the short story).^[4][5]

Cast

• Javier Bardem as Detective Cornelio^[6]
• Maria de Medeiros as Maria^[6]
• Carmelo Gómez as Dark Man^[6]
• Héctor Alterio as G.M.^[6]
• Mapi Galán [de] as Laura^[6]
• Francis Lorenzo as Don Luis^[6]
• Paulina Gálvez as Ofelia^[6]
• Myriam de Maeztu as Rosa^[6]
• Charo López as Duquesa^[6]
• Jerzy Bończak as Hombre tiburón^[6]

Production

Produced by LolaFilms and Ditirambo Films,^[7] it was shot in between Llanes and Warsaw.^[5]

Release

The film was presented at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 1994.^[4] It was theatrically released on 30 September 1994.^[8]

Reception

David Rooney of Variety assessed that despite the bizarre meeting between film noir and gruesome fairy tale featuring "commanding perfs and arresting visuals", the helmer "encumbers the lugubrious thriller with pretentious hokum".^[1]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
1994	42nd San Sebastián International Film Festival	Silver Shell for Best Actor	Javier Bardem	Won	[9]
1995	9th Goya Awards	Best Original Screenplay	Gonzalo Suárez	Nominated	[10]
		Best Production Supervision	José Luis García Arrojo	Nominated
		Best Original Score	Suso Saiz	Nominated
		Best Editing	José Salcedo	Nominated
		Best Special Effects	Miroslaw Marchwinski	Nominated
	45th Fotogramas de Plata	Best Actor	Carmelo Gómez	Won	[11]
	50th CEC Awards	Best Cinematography	Carlos Suárez	Won	[12]

See also

• List of Spanish films of 1994

References

1. Rooney, David (17 October 1994). "The Detective and Death". Variety.
2. Goodman, Al; Tribune, International Herald (20 January 1995). "THE MOVIE GUIDE : El Detective y La Muerte" – via NYTimes.com.
3. "El detective y la muerte (1994) Película - PLAY Cine". abc. 29 March 2017.
4. García, Rocío (23 September 1994). "Gonzalo Suárez ofrece una respuesta ética frente a lo inevitable en el 'El detective y la muerte'". El País.
5. "Gonzalo Suárez, director del mes de diciembre en 8madrid TV". Audiovisual451. 1 December 2020.
6. "El detective y la muerte. Ficha artística". LolaFilms. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
7. Torreiro, Casimiro (2 October 1994). "Ambición y riesgo". El País.
8. "El detective y la muerte". Sensacine. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
9. Torreiro, Casimiro (25 September 1994). "La Concha de Oro para 'Días contados' premia una "película arriesgada", según Imanol Uribe". El País.
10. "El detective y la muerte". premiosgoya.com. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
11. "Los actores Ana Belén y Carmelo Gómez, premios Fotogramas 94". El País. 1 March 1995.
12. "Premios del CEC a la producción española de 1994". Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos. Retrieved 4 February 2022.

External links

• The Detective and Death at IMDb