The Fencing Master
| Movie | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| German title | The Fencing Master | ||
| Original title | El Maestro de Esgrima | ||
| Country of production | Spain | ||
| original language | Spanish | ||
| Publishing year | 1992 | ||
| length | 84 minutes | ||
| Age rating | FSK 16 | ||
| Rod | |||
| Director | Pedro Olea | ||
| script |
Francisco Prada , Arturo Pérez-Reverte , Antonio Larreta , Pedro Olea |
||
| production |
Antonio Cardenal , Pedro Olea |
||
| music | José Nieto | ||
| camera | Alfredo F. Mayo | ||
| cut | José Salcedo | ||
| occupation | |||
| |||
| chronology | |||
| |||
The Fencing Master is a historical adventure film from 1992. It is based on the novel El Maestro de Esgrima (German: The Fechtmeister) by Arturo Pérez-Reverte . It is a very faithful implementation of the template. It was directed by Pedro Olea.
Brief description
Spain 1868: The veteran fencing master Don Jaime Astarloa is asked by the mysterious Adela de Otero, a brilliant fencer, to teach her his fatal “fencing strike of 200 escudos ”. After an initial refusal by Astarloa, Adela succeeds in winning him over as a teacher. Unaware of the background of their request, the aging fencing master falls in love with his pupil and soon finds himself in the midst of a plot of murder, seduction and betrayal, in which he not only becomes a suspect, but also threatens to become a victim.
action
In the midst of Isabella II's revolutionary turmoil in Spain , the fencing master Don Jaime Astarloa receives a visit from Adela de Otero, who asks him to teach her the "thrust of 200 escudos", a deadly foil thrust developed by Astarloa himself. The fencing master refuses to teach this thrust to a woman. Adela seems to give in, but insists on seeing his famous weapons collection. Don Jaime willingly shows it to her, and after she has admired the ring of his master Montespan, Adela grabs a sword and makes a few fencing movements, whereby she wins the admiration of the fencing master. He agrees to give her lessons and makes an appointment at her house. Little by little, Adela succeeds in winning the heart of the aging fencing master. But it does this not without ulterior motives. Her goal is to get to the prominent clients of the fencing master Marques Luis de Ayala. During a lecture by a colleague from Astarloa, she ties up with Ayala and abruptly ends the fencing class.
Astarloa is heartbroken when he watches Adela start an affair with Ayala.
After a while, the Marques finally turns to the fencing master and wants information about Adela de Otero. He has become suspicious of her and asks Astarloa to keep sensitive documents with him. A few days later, Ayala is found dead, murdered by the "thrust of 200 escudos". The police chief initially suspects Astarloa but has no evidence against him.
Astarloa had previously watched Adela de Otero get out of a carriage with an unknown coat of arms. The fencing master investigates the coat of arms and learns that it belongs to the banker Longo.
Before Adela can be suspected, a woman's body is found, which the police suspect is Adela de Otero. A ring that Astarloa gave her during a fencing lesson is supposed to prove her identity. Astarloa turns the documents to his friend Carceles, who is then tortured and almost killed. Astarloa knows that the murderers will soon turn to him and awaits them with the foil ready.
At night Adela de Otero appears and explains to him the background of her actions and that she is obliged to the banker Salanova (who has the Longos coat of arms as an emblem on his carriage). She asks for the letter that is the last thing missing from the documents. When Astarloa refuses to surrender him, she tries to seduce him. They kiss and at the same moment Adela draws a dagger to kill the fencer. He fends off the attack, and a degendual ensues, in the course of which Astarloa kills Adela with a stab in the eye.
Reviews
"Historical drama that puts more emphasis on authentic details, atmospheric coherence and its well-played characters than on the historical and political background of the story."
Awards / nominations
Nominated in 1993 as a Spanish contribution for an Oscar abroad .
In 1993 he won the Goya in the categories "Best Adapted Screenplay", "Best Film Music" and "Best Costumes".
Web links
- The Fencing Master in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ The Fencing Master. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Cover video cassette, CMV