The Little Spanish Soldier

The Little Spanish Soldier
Theatrical release poster
Original title	Soldadito español
Directed by	Antonio Giménez-Rico
Screenplay by	Antonio Giménez-Rico Rafael Azcona
Starring	Maribel Verdú Juan Luis Galiardo María Garralón Luis Escobar Miguel A. Rellán María Luisa San José Félix Rotaeta Amparo Baró José Luis López Vázquez Francisco Bas
Cinematography	Federico Ribes
Edited by	Miguel González Sinde
Music by	Carmelo Bernaola
Production company	Penélope PC
Release date	7 October 1988 (1988-10-07)
Country	Spain
Language	Spanish

The Little Spanish Soldier (Spanish: Soldadito español)[1] is a 1988 Spanish tragicomedy film directed by Antonio Giménez-Rico from a screenplay by Giménez-Rico and Rafael Azcona. It underpins a criticism to the compulsory military service.[2]

Plot

The film follows the mishaps of a young man born to a family closely connected to the military estate who does not want to join the compulsory military service.[3]

Cast

• Maribel Verdú as Marta[4]
• José Luis López Vázquez as Manolo[5]
• María Garralón [es] as Luisa[5]
• Marisa Porcel as Concha[5]
• Juan Luis Galiardo as Paco[5]
• Luis Escobar as Víctor[5]
• Amparo Baró as Lola[5]
• Miguel Rellán as Ángel[5]
• Francisco Bas as Luis[5]
• María Luisa San José [es] as Elena[5]
• Félix Rotaeta[6]
• Ana Álvarez[7]

Production

According to Giménez-Rico the original idea for the story came to him upon a meeting of his promotion of university militia, with the screenplay later penned in tandem with Rafael Azcona.[8] A Penélope production, the film had a reported budget of 150 million Pts.[8] Shooting locations included Alcalá de Henares.[9] The Spanish Little Soldier constitutes an early film depiction of the insubordination to military conscription in Spain.[10]

Release

The film was released theatrically in Spain on 7 October 1988.[5][6] It also screened at the 9th Mostra de Valencia.[11] It grossed 38,372,395 Pts (107,098 admissions).[12]

See also

• List of Spanish films of 1988

References

1. Schwartz, Ronald (2008). Great Spanish Films Since 1950. Scarecrow Press. p. 410.
2. Caparrós Lera 1992, p. 330.
3. "Soldadito español". Fotogramas. 29 May 2008.
4. Devesa, Dolores; Potes, Alicia (2000). "Filmografía" (PDF). Nosferatu. Revista de Cine (33): 83.
5. Devesa & Potes 2000, p. 83.
6. Caparrós Lera 1992, p. 380.
7. "Soldadito español". Retrieved 31 March 2023 – via Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.
8. Hernández Miranda, Julián (29 July 1988). "Esquilache, la melancolía y un soldado español". El País.
9. Serrato, Fran (13 September 2016). "Alcalá, una ciudad de cine". El País.
10. Velasco Martínez, Luis (2017). "Conscripción en la cinematografía española: nacionalización y servicio militar obligatorio" (PDF). V Congreso Internacional de History y Cine. Escenarios del cine histórico. Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. p. 723. ISBN 978-84-617-7948-2.
11. Beltran, Adolf (9 October 1988). "Comienza la 9ª Mostra de Valencia con un homenaje al actor Omero Antonutti". El País.
12. Caparrós Lera, José María (1992). El cine español de la democracia. De la muerte de Franco al "cambio" socialista (1975-1989). Barcelona: Anthropos. p. 380. ISBN 84-7658-312-5.