Dream of Light

Dream of Light

Spanish film poster
Directed by Víctor Erice
Produced by Maria Moreno
Carmen Martinez
Written by Víctor Erice
Antonio López García
Starring Antonio López García
Maria Moreno
Enrique Gran
Music by Pascal Gaigne
Cinematography Ángel Luis Fernández
Javier Aguirresarobe
Edited by Juan Ignacio San Mateo
Distributed by Facets (U.S. VHS)
Release dates
 October 1, 1992 (premiere at NYFF)
30 October 1992 (Spain)
Running time
 138 minutes
Country Spain
Language Spanish

Dream of Light is a 1992 Spanish narrative/documentary film directed by Victor Erice. Its Spanish title is El sol del membrillo, which translates directly to the English "The Sun of the Quince"; it was released in Hong Kong as The Sun of the Quince Tree, and internationally as Quince Tree of the Sun and The Quince Tree Sun. The film centers on Spanish painter Antonio López García (playing himself) and his attempt to paint the eponymous quince tree. López struggles to capture a perfect, fleeting moment of beauty on canvas, and the film meticulously chronicles his work.

Synopsis

The film begins by showing Antonio López García as a very meticulous painter. He drives in pegs to mark his stance, hangs a weight and uses strings to determine the symmetry and center of his painting. His first attempt starts out peacefully but he soon encounters problems due to the weather and the size of his canvas. As García and a friend discuss Michelangelo's The Last Judgement, painted when Michelangelo was in his 60s, which García is fast approaching, the film's subject takes shape as the relationship between the artist's work and his own mortality. García's future attempts are much more rushed and frantic as he struggles to compete with the weather, the fleeting sun and the rotting and weighed down fruit in maintaining his vision.

Participants

Reception

Janet Maslin wrote that "the purity and breadth of this meticulous study are all the more gratifying in view of its unprepossessing style."[1]

Awards

At the 1992 Cannes Film Festival the film won the Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Maslin, Janet (October 1, 1992). "Dream of Light (1992) Review/Film Festival; Watching A Painting Come Slowly Into Being". "New York Times". Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: Dream of Light". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

External links

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