El ángel

Although I am a fan of Raphael Martos's musical career, this film "El ANGEL" is the weakest and worst of all 7 films Raphael starred in throut the mid sixties to the early 70's. First of all, there is no songs from regular Raphael composer, Manuel Alejandro contrary to the first 4 Raphael films(CUANDO TU NO ESTAS, AL PONERSE EL SOL, DIAN LO QUE DIGAN & EL GOLFO) which had great songs composed by Manuel Alejando for Raphael. The songs written for Raphael in this film are lackluster compared to Raphael's previous 4 films(except maybe for the songs Corazon, Corazon & Vive Tu Vida) Also the plot is weak and Raphael is totally miscast as a criminal mastermind/cabaret owner who becomes a priest when his girl played by Anna Gael( who starred in Radley Metzger's THERESE & ISABELLE) is killed by rival gangsters. Raphael doesn't look the part and is much more comfortable playing the priest role. Also both Anna Gael and Mexican comedian Hector Suarez are both wasted in their roles in this film

Rafael recital proving his singing skills , powerful voice and theatrical gestures. A Spanish singer, known as "El Ángel" (Rafael) , owner of a nightclub , lives a double life as a leader of a burglar band (formed by Víctor Israel, Héctor Suárez, Fabián Conde, José Sacristán) and expert in alarms for gangs of thieves . In his last robbery, he betrays to his partners and then his lover Ivette Mauvan (Anna Gael) is abducted and he is blackmailed. Thinking that she has betrayed him, he abandons her to her fate. A very repentant Rafael and thanks to the advice of an elderly friar (Franco Pesce) after suffering an attempted hijacking of a plane, he abandons his past life of delinquency and enters a monastery . As El Ángel reconsiders his life and decides to become a monk ; however , being relentlessly pursued by an obstinated Police Inspector (Roberto Camardiel) . But his previous life will meet him within the walls of the monastery .

The film deals with a young thief who undercovers his dark activities by performing songs in his night club. In his films, Rafael knows how to surround himself with famous international stars , such as : Leslie Ann Down, Shirley Jones and here Anna Gaël . This ¨El ángel (1969)¨ results to be the 3th film starring Spanish singer Raphael was directed by prolific director Vicente Escrivá along with ¨El Golfo¨and ¨Sin un Adiós¨. And here he shows his great singing skills , including spectacular choreography and breathtaking musical numbers . Stars Rafael, and once again plays a popular singer performing a great number of songs . He 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 . Rafael rises to fame, becoming a prominent pop star and performs a large and successful tour across Spain and all around the world . 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 . At his beginnings 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" ,¨Balada triste de una trompeta¨which Raphael does in clown face in the film ¨Sin un adiós¨ 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 . Nowadays , he goes on performing with big hits . Currently he carries out international tours that take him to Peru, Colombia, USA (Miami, New Jersey and New York's Carnegie Hall), The Dominican Republic , Puerto Rico and other South American countries . Rafael was directed by notorious filmmakers as Vicente Escrivá 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¨ . In ¨El ángel (1969)¨ Rafael is well accompanied by a fine support cast , such as : Roberto Camardiel , José Sacristán , Ana María Custodio , Rafael Alonso ,Franco Pesce , Víctor Israel , Fabian Conde , Rafael Hernández, José Truchado, Fernando Sánchez Polack , among others.

It packs a nice score with catching songs , and attractive soundtrack composed by Gregorio García Segura . Rafael sings the following songs : "El ángel" written by José Luis Armenteros ; "Madre" written by José Luis Armenteros , :Corazón corazón" written by José Alfredo Jiménez ; "Vive tu vida" written by Alfonso Sáinz ; the hit : "La canción del tamborilero" music by Katherine K. Davis ; Creo by Shiri-Stillman ; "La bamba" arrangement by Julio Ernestos ; "Ave Maria" composed by Franz Schubert. As well as atmospheric cinematography by cameraman Juan Julio Baena , shot on various locations in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain , Navacerrada , Madrid, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. The motion picture was professionally directed by Vicente Escrivá and the third Raphael film made by this commercial filmmaker , though displaying some flaws , and shortcomings. He directed Rafael in 3 films : El Golfo , El angel , Sin un adiós , as well as Mario Camus who directed him in three movies : Al ponerse el sol , Digan lo que digan y Cuando tu no estas . Vicente Escrivá was a writer , producer and director , known for successful films throughout a long career with hits as Balarrasa (1951) , Sor Intrépida (1952) , Un Traje Blanco (1956) , Montoyas and Tarantos (1989) , 3 films starred by Rafael and 3 starred by Maria Rosario Omaggio : Visanteta Estáte Quieta , El Virgo De Visanteta and La Lozana Andaluza . He also made some TV series such as : Lleno Por Favor , Manos a La Obra , Farmacia De Guardia , and Réquiem En Granada series at his best . Rating : 5.5/10 , acceptable and passable Rafael movie .

The only reason why i'm giving this movie any stars is that Raphael is in it. Although the plot is pretty lame, Raphael did his best by playing a gambler turned priest, when his girlfriend gets killed by rival gang members. His acting and singing are really beautiful although there wasn't much of a storyline or original songs in the film. The only good part is when he sings Ave Maria (Note: not the one by Schubert which i really love). This is the 2nd film i've seen Raphael act. The first movie i saw was El Golfo, which was much better. If I was Rapahel, I would have fired my agent and looked for a new one. I know that he did other movies that are much better.