The Color of the Clouds

The plot revolves around a house in a Cantabrian village owned by Doña Lola, from which a series of intertwined subplots spawn. Lola and her niece Clementina agree on hosting a Bosnian refugee child (sabotaged by impostor kid Bartolomé), an old fisherman and Lola's friend (Colo) finds a drug cache nearby, the former house owner's son tries to evict Lola, and Clementina develops a romance with a lawyer (Valerio).

{{Cast listing|

• Julia Gutiérrez Caba as Lola{{Cite book|title=La Pantalla Popular. El cine español durante el Gobierno de la derecha (1996-2003)|first=José María|last=Caparrós Lera|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1wJ8Hoa5FDEC&pg=PA83|page=83|location=Tres Cantos|publisher=Ediciones Akal|year=2005|isbn=978-84-460-2414-9}}
• Ana Duato as Clementina{{Sfn|Caparrós Lera|2005|p=83}}
• Antonio Valero as Valerio{{Sfn|Caparrós Lera|2005|p=83}}
• {{ill|Josep Maria Domènech|ca|Josep Maria Domènech i Benages|lt=José María Domenéch}} as Colo{{Sfn|Caparrós Lera|2005|p=83}}
• Simón Andreu as Quiroga{{Sfn|Caparrós Lera|2005|p=83}}
• Pedro Barrejón as Bartolomé{{Sfn|Caparrós Lera|2005|p=83}}
• Adis Suljic as Mirsad{{Sfn|Caparrós Lera|2005|p=83}}
• {{ill|Ramón Langa|es}} as Mateo{{Sfn|Caparrós Lera|2005|p=83}}
• Manuel Zarzo as Pedro{{Sfn|Caparrós Lera|2005|p=83}}
• Fernando Valverde as José María{{Sfn|Caparrós Lera|2005|p=83}}
• Blanca Portillo

}}

The film was produced by Urbana Films alongside Sogepaq. It was shot in Cantabria.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cantabriadirecta.es/guia-turismo-de-cine-en-cantabria-en-la-filmoteca-viernes-23-de-abril/|website=Cantabria|title=Guía 'Turismo de Cine en Cantabria', en la Filmoteca, viernes 23 de abril|date=21 April 2021}}

Selected in the 45th San Sebastián International Film Festival's official selection, the film premiered in September 1997. Distributed by Lauren Films, it was theatrically released in Spain on 3 October 1997.{{Sfn|Caparrós Lera|2005|p=83}}

Jonathan Holland of Variety deemed the film to be Camus' best for some years, "a complex but uncomplicated, lyrical but hard-edged adventure-cum-mood piece, with the kind of luminous maturity and compassion to seduce offshore arthouse auds".{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1997/film/reviews/the-color-of-the-clouds-1117340052/|first=Jonathan|last=Holland|website=Variety|date=12 October 1997|title=The Color of the Clouds}}

Ángel Fernández-Santos of El País considered that Camus manages to "firmly hold on a fairly complex but fragile storyline", with the result of a "noble and solid Spanish film".{{Cite web|url=https://elpais.com/diario/1997/09/24/cultura/875052005_850215.html|title=Mario Camus sostiene con cimientos de hierro un frágil castillo argumental de naipes|date=24 September 1997|first=Ángel|last=Fernández-Santos|author-link=Ángel Fernández-Santos}}

{{Awards table|5}}

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| rowspan = "6" align = "center" | 1998 || rowspan = "6" | 12th Goya Awards || Best Actress || Julia Gutiérrez Caba || {{nom}} || rowspan = "6" | {{Cite web|url=https://www.premiosgoya.com/pelicula/el-color-de-las-nubes/|access-date=12 August 2022|title=El color de las nubes|publisher=Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España|website=premiosgoya.com}}

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| Best Supporting Actor || Antonio Valero || {{nom}}

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| Best New Actress || Blanca Portillo || {{nom}}

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| Best Cinematography || Jaume Peracaula || {{won}}

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| Best Editing || José María Biurrun || {{nom}}

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| Best Art Direction || Antonio Cortés || {{nom}}

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• List of Spanish films of 1997

{{reflist}}

{{Mario Camus}}

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Category:Films shot in Cantabria

Category:Films set in Cantabria

Category:1997 drama films

Category:Spanish drama films

Category:1990s Spanish-language films

Category:Films directed by Mario Camus

Category:1990s Spanish films