Digan lo que digan

Odd to find the names of director heavyweights to be Camus and Aristrarain on this Eastmancolor Raphael pop musical, pretty much interchangeable with the fluffy entertainments made with Cliff Richards or Little Tony.

In the soap opera plot, our singer hero searches for his classical pianist brother in Buenos Aires, with the brother eventually revealed playing in the squalid bar. The star is a taste not immediately acquired, particularly when his numbers are pushed so emphatically.

Bright colors and good enough wide screen presentation values make this passable popular entertainment which must have proved agreeable enough for it's intended audience.

Rafael vehicle playing a lot of songs, being professionally directed by Mario Camus . Rafael Gandía (Raphael) is a popular singer on tour in South America who arrives in Buenos Aires where lives , long time ago , his eldest brother Miguel (Ignacio Quirós) . At the port awaits him Blanca , Miguel's secretary who refuses to reveal the whereabouts his brother . Miguel is a prestigious pianist who is missing , as some people tell he's committed suicide himself . Little by little Raphael discovers new sensations and some dark secrets about his disappeared brother . Rafael then looks him for throughout Argentina accompanied by the mysterius Blanca (Serena Vergano) . This main cast : Raphael and Serena Vergano is well supported by a brief secondary cast , such as Ignacio Quirós and Susana Campos as Blanca's Friend .

A loving and exciting melodrama with a a certain intrigue and a moving ending . Dealing with a peculiar love story in which Rafael seeks restlessly his intimate brother , as he arrives in Argentina to meet his long lost older sibling who's supposed to be a notorious concert pianist , but he's missing then Rafael decides to find him . Stars Rafael, proving his theatrical gesture , singing abilities , and affected performance . Rafael is a notorious singer who was born in Linares 1942. As a consequence, he is nicknamed both "El Ruiseñor de Linares" ("Nightingale of Linares") and "El Divo de Linares" ("The Divo from Linares") but is also known as "El Niño". His family moved to Madrid when he was nine months old, and he started singing when he was just three years-old. He joined a children's choir at age four. When he was 9, he was recognized as the best child voice in Europe at a contest in Salzburg, Austria. Raphael adopted his own peculiar singing style from the beginning; he is known for acting each one of his songs while on stage, emphasizing his gestures with high dramatic effect. It is not unusual for Raphael to ad lib lyrics as to localize a song depending on the venue he's singing at, wear Latin American peasant costumes and dance folk dances within a song, kicking and demolishing a mirror, or doing the moves of a flamenco dancer or a bullfighter onstage. He also possesses a wide vocal range, which he often used in the beginning of his career as to evoke a choirboy approach to some songs. His beginnings are similar to this film, as he goes Madrid where participates in broadcasting contests and after in Festival Benidorm where gets a big hit, from now on, he plays songs all around the world. In 1966 and 1967 he represented Spain at the XII and XIII Eurovision Song Contest in Luxembourg, singing "Yo soy aquél" and Vienna, "Hablemos del amor" and placing both 7th and 6th position, although he did not win. It was the first time that Spain obtained a high place in the competition. This served as a turning point in Raphael's career, making him an international star. He traveled and performed worldwide in Europe, Latin America, Puerto Rico, the United States, Russia and Japan. Songs such as "Yo soy aquel" (his signature song), "Cuando tú no estás", "Mi gran noche", "Digan lo que digan", "Tema de amor", "Estuve enamorado" and "Desde aquel día" cemented his status as a major international singing star. As Raphael became a success in Latin America, he made a habit of recording Latin American folk standards including "Huapango torero", "Sandunga" and "Llorona"; they were hits in Mexico. He even appeared live on The Ed Sullivan Show with great success. He performed very famous songs all over the world , such as : Escandalo, Tamborilero , Noche de paz , Blanca Navidad , Como yo te amo , and many others . He married aristocrat, journalist and writer Natalia Figueroa, in Venice (Italy) on 14 July 1972 and they have three children . Raphael's health faced a major setback in 2003, when his liver started failing due to a latent bout with Hepatitis B ; he recovered successfully after a transplant . Since then he is an active organ donation promoter. Rafael was directed by notorious filmmakers as Vicente Escriba in El Golfo, Sin un adios, El angel and Javier Aguirre in Volver a nacer. His last film was in 1975 directed by Antonio Isasi Isasmendi, a documentary titled Rafael en Rafael.

It packs a nice score with wonderful songs masterfully sung by Raphael and composed by Manuel Alejandro , his usual composer . Atmospheric and colorful cinematography in 70mm Panavision , Eastmancolor , by Juan Julio Baena supported by Hans Burmann . Shot on location in Bariloche, Argentina , Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina and Iguazú Falls , Argentina .He flick was well directed by Mario Camus following his Sui-Generis style . Camus was born in Santander , Cantabria , location in which he often shoots his films . He worked with Carlos Saura in several screenplays during the early 60s as ¨Los Golfos¨ (1960), ¨ Llanto Por Un Bandido¨ (1964), and also directed some shorts . Camus shows a penchant for literary and perhaps he's the best Spanish film adapter , a fact that will be a constant in his films . His first feature films were ¨Los Farsantes¨ (1963) and ¨Young Sánchez¨ (1964), this is one of the greatest movies about boxing which won the Best Film Award at the Buenos Aires Festival . Mario has an important career with film and television adaptations quite remarkable , as he efficiently directed yarns based on notorious writers such as Perez Galdos , García Lorca , Cela Camilo José Cela and Miguel Delibes . During various decades he touched styles varying from romantic comedies and musicals with ¨Rafael¨ to splendid adaptations from famous novels , as is the case of the prestigious TV series "Fortunata y Jacinta" (1979) . As he directed for TVE , a lot of series and TV films as ¨Leyenda Alcalde Zalamea¨, ¨Los Camioneros¨ , ¨Los Desastres De La Guerra¨ , the mythical series ¨Curro Jimenez¨ , ¨Mujer Y El Pelele¨ about Pierre Louys novel and ¨La Forja De Un Rebelde¨ . In 1983 he was given the 'Medalla Oro De las Bellas Artes' (Arts Gold Medal) , and one year later he prepared his most successful work both with public and critic : ¨Los Santos Inocentes¨ (1984), an adaptation from the novel by Miguel Delibes . Mario is an expert on interesting and provoking dramas as proved in ¨ The house of Bernarda Alba¨ , ¨La Colmena¨ which won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival , ¨The days of the past ¨ and many others . Camus made an attractive trilogy concerning love stories : ¨Pajaros De Baden Baden¨(74) , ¨Joven Casada¨ (76) and ¨Dias Del Pasado (77) , a romance among Maquis . In the nineties Mario directs tiny films in low budget but with big name actors as ¨Después Del Sueño¨(92) , ¨Sobras Una Batalla¨(93) , ¨Amor Propio¨(94) and this ¨Color De Las Nubes¨(97) . All of them conceptual as well as contemporary films , based on his own screenplays , non-novels , and concerning similar themes : a dark past that wakes up , including rare characters arrive in rustic locations and cause strong passions , shaking ancient stories , originating distresses and pains . Camus also wrote scripts for other directors as ¨Los Golfos¨ (60) by Carlos Saura and Wherther (86) , ¨Beltreneros¨(91) and ¨Pájaro De Felicidad¨(93) by Pilar Miró . Rating : 6/10 . Decent and better than average Rafael movie ; it's an extremely enjoyable film though slow-moving , at times.