El extraño viaje (Strange Voyage), 1964

Directed by Fernando Fernán Gómez

Fernando Fernán Gómez (1921-2007) is considered one of the greatest and most prolific figures in Spanish cinema. Over the course of his sixty-year career he won Goya Awards as an actor, writer, and director, and in 1981 Spain’s Ministry of Culture honored him with the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts. This fall, the Meadows Museum and Dallas Film celebrate this titan of Spanish cinema by screening three of the best-known films he directed.

Drawing inspiration from a real-life murder mystery, El extraño viaje centers on three unmarried siblings who live together in a small town: the domineering Ignacia and the childlike Paquita and Venancio. Hearing strange noises on a stormy Saturday night, the frightened Paquita wakes her brother and seeks out her sister, who seems to be hiding someone in her bedroom. The mystery that unfolds comes to a climax with a dreadful discovery that shocks the entire town. Suppressed by censors during the Francoist regime, El extraño viaje is now regarded as one of the greatest films of the era. Filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar cited it as one of thirteen Spanish movies that inspired his own career.

Spain’s Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts rates this film ICAA 12+ (not recommended for audiences under twelve years of age), but the Meadows Museum screening is intended for mature audiences only.

Spanish with English subtitles | 92 minutes

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Free