Lucía, Lucía

Lucía, Lucía

Promotional poster
Directed by Antonio Serrano
Produced by Matthias Ehrenberg
Andrés Vicente Gómez
Carlos Payán
Written by Antonio Serrano
Starring Cecilia Roth
Kuno Becker
Carlos Álvarez-Nóvoa
Javier Díaz Dueñas
Margarita Isabel
Max Kerlow
Mario Iván Martínez
José Elías Moreno
Héctor Ortega
Enrique Singer
Music by Nacho Mastretta
Cinematography Xavier Pérez Grobet
Edited by Jorge García
Production
company
LolaFilms
Conaculta
Fondo Ibermedia
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • January 17, 2003 (Mexico)
  • November 21, 2003 (Spain)
Running time
110 minutes
Country Mexico
Spain
Language Spanish
Budget 3.3 million
MXN$30 million
USD$2.75 million[1]
Box office $269,586[2]

Lucía, Lucía, also known as La hija del caníbal, is a 2003 Mexican film (co-produced with Spain) and the second by Antonio Serrano. The story is based on Spanish journalist Rosa Montero's novel of the same name (1997).[3] The film stars Argentine actress Cecilia Roth, Mexican actor Kuno Becker, and Spanish actor Carlos Álvarez-Nóvoa. The cinematographer is Xavier Pérez Grobet.

Plot

Lucía, a children's book writer, is travelling to Brazil with her husband on vacation, when her husband disappears after going to the airport bathroom. She later learns that he was kidnapped by a group called the People Workers Party that wants 20 million pesos from her. Her husband frantically tells her to find the money in his aunt's safety deposit box. With the help of her neighbours, a Spanish Civil War veteran, and a young musician, Lucía sets out to find his kidnappers. She eventually discovers the truth about his disappearance after learning from the police that her husband is accused of being part of an elaborate embezzlement scam from within the Treasury Department of the government and may have possibly faked his kidnapping.

Cast

Production

The novel

The film was shot over a period of eight weeks in and around Mexico City, as well as at the Puebla airport and the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro. In the United States the film was released under the name Lucía, Lucía, since the producers thought the name La hija del caníbal (literally, "The cannibal's daughter") would lead audiences to believe the story was about a cannibal.

Reception

Lucía, Lucía was not as successful as Serrano's first film Sexo, Pudor y Lágrimas. Its box-office output in Mexico was MNX$10 million (under a million dollars). In Spain it was released on November 21, 2003 in 100 theaters.[4] In the United States it had a box-office output of $269,586 in just 50 theatres. The film currently takes the spot of the 204th highest grossing foreign film in the United States.[2]

The film received mixed to negative reviews, currently holding a 44% rating on Rotten Tomatoes; the consensus states: "A relatively simple mid-life crisis story is burdened by overly cumbersome plot devices."[5]

Accolades

The film was nominated for the following awards:


References

External links