Cinema
Black Sky
Cielo negro
Manuel Mur Oti · 1951
Synopsis
Madrid, after the war. Emilia, a modest seamstress in a fashion house, short-sighted, secretly loves a colleague, Ricardo Fortún, a bohemian poet. When he invites her to the neighbourhood's popular festival, she has only a worn dress to go out in. A friend from the workshop then helps her to borrow, in secret, one of the house's luxury dresses. This evening of celebration, which was to be the happiest of her life, draws her into a series of trials in which her eyesight, her love and her place in the world will be put at stake.
Context
The film adapts a naturalist short story by Antonio Zozaya, Miopita, set in working-class Madrid. It was shot in the streets of the centre of the capital, and scenes were cut before release, so that performers appear in the credits without appearing on screen. Susana Canales plays Emilia, opposite Fernando Rey and Luis Prendes. Linked to the Spanish neorealist current, it is regarded as its director's best film, and its final tracking shot, filmed in the rain, is counted among the most famous sequences of Spanish cinema.
Who it is for
A black and white melodrama, very dark; it is best to know that the heroine's failing eyesight is at the heart of the film.
Prizes and reception
Distinguished by the Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos; regarded as its director's masterpiece.