Manolete (film)

Manolete
The Passion Within poster
Directed by	Menno Meyjes
Produced by	Víctor Albarrán, Carola Ash, Andrés Vicente Gómez, Stephen Margolis, Albert Martinez Martin
Written by	Menno Meyjes
Starring	Adrien Brody Penélope Cruz Santiago Segura Ann Mitchell Juan Echanove Pedro Casablanc Nacho Aldeguer
Music by	Dan Jones
Cinematography	Robert Yeoman
Distributed by	3L Filmverleih Momentum Pictures G2 Pictures HandMade Films International
Release dates	28 August 2008 (2008-08-28) (TIFF)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	Spain United Kingdom
Language	English Spanish
Budget	$28 million^[1]

Manolete, also known as The Passion Within in the United Kingdom, Blood and Passion in Canada, and A Matador's Mistress in the United States,^[2] is a 2008 biopic of bullfighter Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez, better known as Manolete. The film was written and directed by Menno Meyjes. This is the first film from HandMade Films since Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998).

Plot

The Menno Meyjes directed drama stars Adrien Brody as Spanish bullfighter Manolete, in a film that covers his late life love affair with actress Lupe Sino (Penélope Cruz) before he was gored to death in the bull ring. Sino's communist politics turned their affair into a scandal in the early 1940s, especially after discovering her previous marriage to a PCE member.^[3] The film begins with Manolete's last day in Linares.

Cast

Adrien Brody as Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez, a.k.a. "Manolete"
Penélope Cruz as Antoñita "Lupe" Sino
Santiago Segura as Guillermo
Ann Mitchell as Doña Angustias
Josep Linuesa as Enrique de Ahumada
Juan Echanove as Pepe Cámara
Pedro Casablanc as General
Tomas Rozzi as the 'dealer'
Nacho Aldeguer as Luis Miguel Dominguín
Diego Martín
Berta de la Dehesa
Rubén Ochandiano
Omar Muñoz as young Manolete
Denise Moreno as girl
Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez as Torero

Release

The film premiered on 28 August 2008 in the Toronto International Film Festival.^[4]

Despite a planned release date of 2007, the film faced several production delays and a spiralling budget. Although it has been scheduled for a theatrical release in France on 31 March 2010,^[5] Deadline's Mike Fleming reports that, "Even though the film stars two Oscar winners, it never found any takers for a theatrical run."^[3] The film has been shelved since 2007.^[2]

In April 2011 - Xenon Pictures CEO Leigh Savidge announced that on 7 June 2011 Xenon Pictures would release a newly edited version of A Matador's Mistress on DVD.^[6]

Gravitas Ventures announced on 14 March 2011 that it has acquired VOD and digital rights to Manolete. Gravitas, which is licensing the film from Viva Pictures, plans to release the film on demand via cable, satellite, telco and online in June 2011. "We are confident no one is better positioned to exploit this epic high-value production on a digital platform," said Viva president Victor Elizalde.^[7]

Controversy

Although bullfighting scenes were shot expensively without bulls, animal rights activists have encouraged a boycott of the film. Protestors reject what they perceive to be a glamorous image of a matador on film. "It is inadmissible to release a film in which the hero is a matador," said the Alliance Anticorrida, a French anti-bullfighting group, in a message to its 20,000 members. "If they are properly informed, a great number of spectators will avoid this new film."^[8]

Reception

The film has received very few reviews, and has not as yet got a critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, though it has a 39% audience score based on 500 reviews (as of September 2015), together indicating generally negative reviews. It is not listed on Metacritic.