A biographical film about the well-known architect, Antonio Gaudí (Carlos Mendy) , detailing his stormy life, his difficulties , pains and hardships. Here treats Gaudi as a determined man with leftist tendencies but when the workers who are building La Sagrada Familia go on strike due to short salary he opposes it, accusing the workers of acting badly . The film describes his relation with two women, one of the upper class , Fanny (Linda Chacón) , who rejects him because he did not meet her expectations, and Rosa (Josefina Güell) who's the sister of his best friend (Manuel Gil) , when the latter is murdered his sister blames him . Then , Rosa distancing herself from him until old age when they try to meet.
It is a mediocre biographical film focusing on sentimental elements, loves, misfortunes and hardships suffered by the artist until he reaches his long road to success. The performances are passable but neither remarkable nor extraordinary , just functional . A weak biopic of the greatest Spanish architect who deserves a better film to do justice to his immense architectural work. The motion picture was regularly directed by José María Argemí .
Adding more remarks about Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (1852 -1926) : he was a Catalan architect and designer from Spain, known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works have a highly individualized, sui generis style. Most are located in Barcelona, including his main work, the church of the Sagrada Família that in 1936, during the course of the Spanish Civil War, Gaudí's workshop in the Sagrada Familia was assaulted, destroying a large number of documents, plans and models of the modernist architect. Gaudí's work was influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature, and religion. He considered every detail of his creations and integrated into his architecture such crafts as ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork forging and carpentry. He also introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials, such as trencadís which used waste ceramic pieces. Under the influence of neo-Gothic art and Oriental techniques, Gaudí became part of the Modernista movement which was reaching its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His work transcended mainstream Modernisme, culminating in an organic style inspired by natural forms. Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans of his works, instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and moulding the details as he conceived them. Gaudí's work enjoys global popularity and continuing admiration and study by architects. His masterpiece, the still-incomplete Sagrada Família, is the most-visited monument in Spain. Between 1984 and 2005, seven of his works were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Gaudí's Catholic faith intensified during his life and religious images appear in many of his works. This earned him the nickname "God's Architect"and led to calls for his beatification.
Gaudí's professional life was distinctive in that he never ceased to investigate mechanical building structures. Early on, Gaudí was inspired by oriental arts (India, Persia, Japan) through the study of the historicist architectural theoreticians. The influence of the Oriental movement can be seen in works like the ¨Capricho¨, ¨The Güell Palace¨, ¨the Güell Pavilions¨ and the ¨Casa Vicens¨. Later on, he adhered to the neo-Gothic movement that was in fashion at the time, following the ideas of the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. This influence is reflected in the ¨Teresian College¨, the ¨Episcopal Palace in Astorga¨, the ¨Casa Botines¨ in León and the ¨Bellesguard house¨ as well as in the crypt and the apse of the ¨Sagrada Família¨. Eventually, Gaudí embarked on a more personal phase, with the organic style inspired by nature in which he would build his major works.
