El ojo del cielo
El ojo del cielo

The Eye of the Sky

El ojo del cielo

At the heart of this novel there are four women – Margarita, the young and beautiful mother; Valen, her older daughter, the rebellious middle daughter, and little Clara—whose lives seem to become difficult due to economic reasons as well as a burst of sensuality. In a photograph of the four, we can observe the shadow of who took it, a father that makes a living selling exquisite ice cream here and there, and whom they never heard from again after he ran away in order to escape a dramatic persecution due to some debt—the same debt that pushes the four women to leave their house and move to a hut in the countryside.

Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón paints the portrait of a family universe that oscillates between realism and magic, and is presided over by the sphere of a radar that, from the top of the mountain, contemplates the movements of the four woman as a powerful eye, the eye in the title of this novel.

A short and agile novel, whose plot moves forward driven by the author’s mastery of language and an intelligent and cult sense of humor.

«Gutiérrez Aragón has a perfect command of the mechanisms of writing, but he also knows how to delve into most tortuous corners of human psychology» – Esteve Riambau, Avui

PAGES176
SERIESNarrativas hispánicas
PUBLICATION09/05/2018
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Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón

Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón

Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón (Torrelavega, Cantabria, 1942) joined the School of Cinema in Madrid in 1962, at the same time as he was studying Philosophy and Letters. His first feature film was Habla, mudita (1973), produced by Elías Querejeta and winner of the Critics’ Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. Among his best-known films are Camada negra (1977), Golden Bear for Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival; Maravillas (1980); Demonios en el jardín (1982), Critics’ Prize at the Moscow Film Festival and Donatello Prize from the Academia de Cine Italiana; La mitad del cielo (1986), Golden Shell at the San Sebastian Film Festival, all produced by Luis Megino. He has won the Fotogramas de Plata Prize for Best Film four times. In 1992, he produced the TV series El Quijote, to public acclaim and with the recognition of the Grand Prize at the Cannes Television Festival. The series was later followed by El Caballero don Quijote (2002), winner at the Venice Festival. He received the Premio Ondas for Cosas que dejé en La Habana, produced by Gerardo Herrero. In 2003 he was chosen as a member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, and was given the National Cinema Prize in 2005. He has also directed operas and plays. His most recent film was Todos estamos invitados (2008), which won the Jury Prize at the Malaga Film Festival. He recently announced his retirement from filmmaking.