Year of Enlightment (1986)
El año de las luces
105 min
April, 1940. Manolo, 16 years old, and Jesus, who is just 8, are taken by their older brother Pepe, a lieutenant in the Army, to a sanatorium for children suffering from tuberculosis, situated on the border with Portugal. Once in the sanatorium, Manolo, surrounded by boys all much younger than he is, feels a bit like the cock of the walk since the only other man around is the handyman Emilio who looks after the gardens and does whatever needs to be done about the place. His wife, Rafaela, is the cook. Manolo meets Irene, a falangist who runs the sanatorium, and the school teacher, Miss Transito, a crabby spinster. He has his first sexual experience, albeit as a voyeur, with his nurse Vicenta. When she has to leave, her place is taken by a girl from the village, Maria Jesus, with whom Manolo falls hopelessly in love. A relationship grows up between them which will mark them both for ever.
- Release date
- May 26, 1988
- Country of origin
- Spain
- Music
- Francisco Guerrero
Where to watch
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Trailer
Cast
- Jorge Sanz as Manolo
- Verónica Forqué as Irene
- Maribel Verdú as María Jesús
- Rafaela Aparicio as Rafaela
- Santiago Ramos as Pepe
- Chus Lampreave as Doña Tránsito
- José Sazatornil as Don Teódulo
- Manuel Alexandre as Emilio
- Violeta Cela as Vicenta
- Diana Peñalver as Paquita
- Pedro Reyes as Pascual
- José María Cañete as Caballero
- Gabriel Latorre as falangista
- António Sequeira Lopes as Joao
- María Jesús Hoyos as Tomasa
- Isabel Ordaz as Hermana 2
- Pilar Ordóñez as Hermana 3
- Javier Lozano as Guardia Civil 1
Crew
- Fernando Trueba · Director
- Rafael Azcona · Writer
- Manuel Huete · Writer
- Fernando Trueba · Writer
- Andrés Vicente Gómez · Producer
- Francisco Guerrero · Composer
- Juan Amorós · Cinematographer
- Carmen Frías · Editor
- Josep Rosell · Production designer