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Jaime de Armiñán
Jaime de Armiñán 2014.jpg
Jaime de Armiñán in 2014
Born
Jaime de Armiñán Oliver

(1927-03-09)9 March 1927
Madrid, Spain
Died 9 April 2024(2024-04-09) (aged 97)
Occupation Film director
Screenwriter
Years active 1961–2024

Jaime de Armiñán Oliver (9 March 1927 – 9 April 2024) was a Spanish screenwriter and film director. His films have been nominated for Academy Awards in the Foreign language film category twice, in 1972 for Mi querida señorita and in 1980 for El Nido.

His 1974 film El amor del capitán Brando was entered into the 24th Berlin International Film Festival. His 1985 film Stico was entered into the 35th Berlin International Film Festival, where Fernando Fernán Gómez won the Silver Bear for Best Actor. In 1994, his film Al otro lado del Túnel was entered into the 44th Berlin International Film Festival.

Life

Jaime de Armiñán was born on 9 March 1927 in Madrid within a family of artist, politicians and writers. He studied law at Universidad Complutense de Madrid. After graduating as a lawyer, Armiñán began writing articles for such magazines as Fotos and Dígame.

In the 1950s, he established himself as an award-winning playwright whose best known works include Eva sin Manzana (Eve Without the Apple) (1953), Nuestro fantasma (1956) (Our Ghost) and Café del Liceo (Cafe of the Opera). Armiñán joined the television industry in 1959 when he was hired by Radiotelevisión Española, and soon developed a reputation as one of television most distinctive writer/directors, thanks to such series as Galeria de Maridos (1959) and Las Doce Caras de Juan (1967). During this period, Armiñán was also building a career as a screenwriter. He soon established himself as one of the most successful and prolific screenwriters, contributing with scripts most notably to José María Forqué, one of the most commercial popular directors of the day. Among his scripts credits during this time are : El Secreto de Mónica (Monica’s Secret) (1961), El juego de La verdad (The game of Truth) (1963),and El diablo bajo la Almohada (The devil under the Pillow).

As the natural progression in his work in films, Armiñán moved to become a film director. He made his debut as director with his own scripts in 1969 with Carola de día, Carola de noche, (Carola by day and by night ), a project tailor-made to revive the sagging career of former child star, Marisol who, at age 21, was starring her first role as an adult. This was followed by the equally forgettable La Lola dicen que no vive sola (1970) (Lola does not live alone). While this first two directorial attempts came and went with little notice, Armiñán won acclaim with his third effort: Mi Querida Señorita (My dearest Señorita) (1971) a project developed out of a collaboration with José Luis Borau. Mi Querida Señorita was a critical and popular success and was nominated in 1972 for the Oscars in the Foreign Language film category.

After the comedy Un casto varón español (1973), Armiñán made El amor del Capitan Brando (1974) (The Love of Captain Brando) a film that follows with sensitivity the relationship of Aurora, a young school teacher, with two men of opposite generations who fall in love with her: Fernando, a middle-aged republican exile, and Juan, a thirteen-year-old boy who enjoys playing acting in Westerns. El amor del Capitan Brando was a big commercial success. During the post Franco period, Armiñán sought ways to express both his political and social themes, but with varying degree of success. Nunca es tarde (1977) (Never too Late) recounts in parodied fashion the miraculous pregnancy of a woman in her eighties through her mystical identification with a young male neighbor whom she claims is the child's spiritual father. A more pointed narrative of political repression comes through in Al servicio de la mujer española (At The service of the Spanish Woman) (1978), which parodies with black humor the puritanical values of the francoist culture that outlived the regime and continued to shape provincial life.

Armiñán most acclaimed film of this period is El Nido (The Nest) (1980) which depicts the tragic consequences of the infatuation of an aging widower (Héctor Alterio ) for an adolescent girl played by Ana Torrent. While seemingly only to portrait the details of an autumn spring romance, the film exposes the dominance of Spanish women. The young girl who fashion herself on Lady Macbeth, and the ambivalence of Spanish men who are controlled by matriarchal power. Ana Torrent won the best actress award at the Montreal film festival for her performance, and the film was also nominated for an Oscar that year; this was Armiñán second nomination.

Armiñán's filmography over the next fifteen year remained notably slender, largely due to his return to television and his highly successful scripting of several dramatic series. One of the few films he made during this period, La Hora Bruja (The Witching Hour) (1985) is noteworthy for its strong dramatic performances by Francisco Rabal, Concha Velasco and Victoria Abril. Al otro lado del Tunel (The Other Side of the Tunnel) (1994), presents a similar story of passion and old age, this time with the amorous pair constituted by Maribel Verdú and Fernando Rey.

In 2008 Armiñán returned to directing films with 14, Fabian Road, starring Argentinian actress Julieta Cardinali, Ana Torrent and Ángela Molina.

Jaime de Armiñán was married to Elena Santonja, a popular TV presenter. The couple had three children.

Filmography

Year English title Original title Notes
1969 Carola by day and by night Carola de día, Carola de noche
1970 Lola does not live alone La Lola, dicen que no vive sola
1971 My Dearest Senorita Mi querida señorita Academy Award: Nominated Best Foreign Language Film
1973 Un casto varón español Un casto varón español
1974 The Love of Captain Brando El amor del capitán Brando
1975 Jo, papá Jo, papá
1977 It is never too late Nunca es tarde
1978 At the service of the Spanish woman Al servicio de la mujer española
1980 The Nest El Nido Academy Award Nominated: Best Foreign language Film
1981 In September En Septiembre
1984 Stico Stico
1985 The Witching Hour La hora bruja
1987 My general Mi general
1987 Juncal Juncal Miniseries made for television
1994 The other side of the tunnel Al otro lado del Túnel
1995 The Lame Pigeon El Palomo cojo
2008 14, Fabian Road 14, Fabian Road

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Jaime de Armiñán para niños

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