Palo y hueso
Encyclopedia
Palo y hueso is a 1968 Argentine
film
released on 7 August 1968, directed by Nicolás Sarquís
and starring Héctor da Rosa
and Miguel Ligero. The film was shot entirely in Buenos Aires
, premiering there on August 7, 1968.
The young people try to escape, but their bus is stopped by a river that has flooded. The old man follows and finds them, pleading with them to return. They agree, but the son insists that the old man relinquish the woman.
The film has several memorable moments. One is the beautiful sequence of images of couple walking down the road and waiting patiently for the bus in the rain. Some of the intensity of the movie may be due to the way in which it reflects the spirit of rebellion of the 1960s.
As with all his films, Palo y hueso demonstrates Sarquis' enormous vocation for themes rooted in a microworld of men and women, creating tense narratives with the rigorous quality of epics.
It was also only the second to be shot by cinematographer Esteban Courtalon
.
Julio Lencina
, another well-known cinematographer, was first assistant cameraman. Lencina went on to work with E. Stagnaro, Ricardo Wullicher
, Mario Sábato
, Valladares and others as director of photography.
The movie, released in Santa Fe on 4 June 1968, cost just 5,500,000 pesos ($15,715) to make.
The film is based on the 1965 short story of the same name by Juan Jose Saer
.
Saer was a well known writer who was also a movie buff, and taught History of Film and Film Criticism and Aesthetics at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral
in Santa Fe
.
Saer began teaching at the Film Institute of Santa Fe (Instituto de Cine de Santa Fe) in 1962. Several of his students made films from his novels. Patricio Coll
made Cicatrices (Scars), Raúl Beceyro
made Nadie, nada, nunca (No, no, never) and Sarquis made Palo y hueso. (Both Coll and Beceyro assisted with Palo y hueso).
The film's realist approach shows the influence of Sarquis' teacher Fernando Birri
, who had won several international awards.
The film featured music by Béla Bartók
.
It was submitted by Argentina
for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
, but failed to be nominated. The film also failed to gain much attention in the Argentine cinemas. However, Sarquís' later film La muerte de Sebastián Arache (1977) was recognized as a major work based on the strength of its images and the poetic sense converyed in the movie.
Later reviewers have praised Palo y hueso.
When it was presented at the Fribourg International Film Festival
in 2001, a reviewer described it as "a very singular and personal work in the Argentinean panorama of that time. Austere sets, bare dialogues and a simple drama underline the tensions linking the three characters whose lack of perspective is perceptible".
The reviewer went on to detect the influence of filmmakers such as Alain Robbe-Grillet
or Marguerite Duras
, but felt that the tight psychological characterization, disciplined acting and stark sets were more reminiscent of Kenji Mizoguchi
or Satyajit Ray
.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
released on 7 August 1968, directed by Nicolás Sarquís
Nicolás Sarquís
Nicolás Sarquís was an Argentine film director and screenwriter. His first full-length movie was Palo y hueso , filmed in black and white.He died of lung cancer in 2003.-Filmography:*1965 Después de hora...
and starring Héctor da Rosa
Héctor da Rosa
-Filmography:*1968 Rafael Heredia El Gitano as Hermano Menor*1968 Palo y hueso as Domingo*1971 Argentino hasta la muerte*1971 A Bravo of the 1900's*1971 The Big Highway*1974 Contigo y aquí...
and Miguel Ligero. The film was shot entirely in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, premiering there on August 7, 1968.
Plot
The film tells the story of an old peasant who buys a young woman to live with him, but later realizes that she is sleeping with his son.The young people try to escape, but their bus is stopped by a river that has flooded. The old man follows and finds them, pleading with them to return. They agree, but the son insists that the old man relinquish the woman.
The film has several memorable moments. One is the beautiful sequence of images of couple walking down the road and waiting patiently for the bus in the rain. Some of the intensity of the movie may be due to the way in which it reflects the spirit of rebellion of the 1960s.
As with all his films, Palo y hueso demonstrates Sarquis' enormous vocation for themes rooted in a microworld of men and women, creating tense narratives with the rigorous quality of epics.
Cast
The cast was:- Héctor da RosaHéctor da Rosa-Filmography:*1968 Rafael Heredia El Gitano as Hermano Menor*1968 Palo y hueso as Domingo*1971 Argentino hasta la muerte*1971 A Bravo of the 1900's*1971 The Big Highway*1974 Contigo y aquí...
as Domingo - Miguel LigeroMiguel LigeroMiguel Ligero was a film actor from Argentina.Ligero was born in 1911 in Rosario, Santa Fe, and died on 1 February 1989 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.-Films:Miguel Ligero appeared in the following films:...
as Don Arce - Ramón 'Moncho' Beron as Rolon
- Ramón Franco as Domingo's friend
- Juanita Martínez as Rosita
- Melchor Soperes as the Parishioner
Production
Palo y hueso was Sarquis' first full-length film, shot in black and white.It was also only the second to be shot by cinematographer Esteban Courtalon
Esteban Courtalon
Pablo Esteban Courtalon is an Argentine cinematographer.From Santa Fe in Argentina, Courtalon was worked on some 20 films in the Cinema of Argentina since 1965 such as El Acomodador , Eversmile, New Jersey and Alambrado in 1991.-Filmography:*Sub terra *Cicatrices *Ladrón y su mujer, Un *Maria Luisa...
.
Julio Lencina
Julio Lencina
Julio Lencina is a cinematographer and director from Argentina who is known for his work in the cinematic world of the Andes ....
, another well-known cinematographer, was first assistant cameraman. Lencina went on to work with E. Stagnaro, Ricardo Wullicher
Ricardo Wullicher
Ricardo Wullicher is a film director from Argentina. He is best known for his 1976 thriller La casa de las sombras ....
, Mario Sábato
Mario Sábato
Mario Sábato is an Argentine film director and screenwriter. He is the son of the famed writer Ernesto Sábato.He worked mainly in the Cinema of Argentina best known for his children's comedy films.-External links:*...
, Valladares and others as director of photography.
The movie, released in Santa Fe on 4 June 1968, cost just 5,500,000 pesos ($15,715) to make.
The film is based on the 1965 short story of the same name by Juan Jose Saer
Juan José Saer
Juan José Saer was one of the most important Argentine novelists of the last fifty years.Born to Syrian immigrants in Serodino, a small town in the Santa Fe Province, he studied law and philosophy at the National University of the Littoral, where he taught History of Cinematography. Thanks to a...
.
Saer was a well known writer who was also a movie buff, and taught History of Film and Film Criticism and Aesthetics at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral
National University of the Littoral
The National University of the Littoral is a university in Argentina. It is based in Santa Fe, the capital of the province of the same name, and it has colleges and other academic facilities in Esperanza, Reconquista and Gálvez, also in Santa Fe Province.-History:The original institution was...
in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, Argentina
Santa Fe is the capital city of province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It sits in northeastern Argentina, near the junction of the Paraná and Salado rivers. It lies opposite the city of Paraná, to which it is linked by the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel. The city is also connected by canal with the...
.
Saer began teaching at the Film Institute of Santa Fe (Instituto de Cine de Santa Fe) in 1962. Several of his students made films from his novels. Patricio Coll
Patricio Coll
Patricio Coll is a movie director from Argentina who has worked in film, video and TV, both in Argentina and Venezuela and Spain. He currently resides in Santa Fe....
made Cicatrices (Scars), Raúl Beceyro
Raúl Beceyro
Raúl Beceyro is a movie director, critic and photographer from Argentina.He is known for the movie Nadie Nada Nunca that he produced and directed, based on the novel of the same name by Juan Jose Saer...
made Nadie, nada, nunca (No, no, never) and Sarquis made Palo y hueso. (Both Coll and Beceyro assisted with Palo y hueso).
The film's realist approach shows the influence of Sarquis' teacher Fernando Birri
Fernando Birri
Fernando Birri is an Argentinian film maker and theorist. He is considered by many to be the father of the new Latin American cinema.Birri was born in Santa Fe, Argentina...
, who had won several international awards.
The film featured music by Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
.
Reception
The film fell short of the director's ambition.It was submitted by Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, but failed to be nominated. The film also failed to gain much attention in the Argentine cinemas. However, Sarquís' later film La muerte de Sebastián Arache (1977) was recognized as a major work based on the strength of its images and the poetic sense converyed in the movie.
Later reviewers have praised Palo y hueso.
When it was presented at the Fribourg International Film Festival
Fribourg International Film Festival
The Fribourg International Film Festival is an annual film festival in Fribourg, Switzerland. It is focused on selected cultural films from Asia, Africa and Latin America....
in 2001, a reviewer described it as "a very singular and personal work in the Argentinean panorama of that time. Austere sets, bare dialogues and a simple drama underline the tensions linking the three characters whose lack of perspective is perceptible".
The reviewer went on to detect the influence of filmmakers such as Alain Robbe-Grillet
Alain Robbe-Grillet
Alain Robbe-Grillet , was a French writer and filmmaker. He was, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simon, one of the figures most associated with the Nouveau Roman trend. Alain Robbe-Grillet was elected a member of the Académie française on March 25, 2004, succeeding Maurice...
or Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
, but felt that the tight psychological characterization, disciplined acting and stark sets were more reminiscent of Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His film Ugetsu won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Mizoguchi is renowned for his mastery of the long take and mise-en-scène...
or Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
.