Spanish Film Week concludes with 1956 classic ‘Calle Mayor’

AMMAN — Spanish Film Week in Amman concluded last Thursday with a movie that offers a bleak vision of provincial society in Spain during Franco’s rule.

The black-and-white 1956 film “Calle Mayor” —“Main Street”— takes place in 1953 and is based on the play “La señorita de Trévelez” by Carlos Arniches.

 It tells the story of the inevitable downfall and eventual social alienation of its protagonists, Juan and Isabel.

The 99-minute film, which won the FIPRESCI Prize and New Cinema Award at Venice Film Festival as well as the Special Award and Best Film at Sant Jordi Awards, also shows how single women used to be treated at that time, as marriage was the only hope of each woman.

In order to kill the boredom, Juan and his friends drink, sing and plot pranks against other fellow citizens. The group choose Isabel, a single woman aged 35, as their next victim. 

Juan deceives Isabel by pretending he wants to marry her, and the con develops, affecting the lives of everyone around when the truth is revealed.

Spanish Film Week is an annual activity organised by the Spanish embassy in Amman, Institut Cervantes and the Royal Film Commission. 

Six films were screened at the Rainbow Theatre within the festival last week, with each going back to a different era and addressing unique issues.

In addition to “Calle Mayor”, the films were “Les lunes al Sol” (Mondays under the sun), “El secreto de sus ojos” (the secrets in her eyes), “Los Santos inocentes” (The Holy Innocents) and “Yo también” (Me Too).

For the first time, the films were screened with Arabic subtitles, according to the Spanish embassy, to target Arabic speaking audiences.