The Shanghai Spell

{{Infobox film

| image = The Shanghai Spell poster.jpg

| native_name = {{Infobox name module|es|El embrujo de Shanghai|nolink=y}}

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Fernando Trueba

| producer = {{ubl|Andrés Vicente Gómez|Cristina Huete}}

| writer =

| screenplay = Fernando Trueba

| based_on = {{based on|El embrujo de Shanghai|Juan Marsé}}

| starring = {{Plain list|

}}

| music = Antoine Duhamel

| cinematography = José Luis López Linares

| editing =

| studio = {{ubl|Lolafilms|Shangai Spell Ltda|Pyramide Productions|Orsan Productions}}

| distributor =

| released = {{Film date|2002|4|12|Spain|df=y}}

| runtime =

| country = {{ubl|Spain|France|United Kingdom}}

| language = Spanish

| budget =

| gross =

}}

The Shanghai Spell ({{langx|es|El embrujo de Shanghai|links=no}}) is a 2002 film written and directed by Fernando Trueba. The film is based on the 1993 novel of the same name by Juan Marsé. It is an international co-production among companies from Spain, France and the United Kingdom.

Plot

The film is set in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, in the wake of the Spanish Civil War.{{cite book |last=Simonis |first=Damien|title=Lonely Planet Cityguide: Barcelona |year=2010 |publisher=Lonely Planet |location=Melbourne |isbn=978-1742204055}} Fourteen-year-old Dani is a budding painter, who looks after Captain Blay (Fernando Fernán Gómez), an ageing civil war veteran. Blay suggests Dani draw local girl Susana, who is suffering from tuberculosis, as the subject of a poster warning of the dangers of factory smoke causing consumption. Dani and Susana begin a tentative romance, as they hear stories of Susana's father's exploits as a secret agent in the Chinese city of Shanghai from one of his wartime colleagues.[http://www.sbs.com.au/films/movie/11601/shanghai-spell Shanghai Spell], SBS Films.

Cast

{{Cast list|

Aida Folch as Susana
Ariadna Gil as Anita
Antonio Resines as El Kim (a Maquis)
Fernando Tielve as Dani
Eduard Fernández as Forcat
Fernando Fernán Gómez as Capitán Blay
Jorge Sanz as Denis{{Cite journal|page=247|first=Josefina|last=Martínez Álvarez|journal=Cuadernos de Historia Contemporánea|location=Madrid|publisher=Ediciones Complutense|volume=34|year=2012|title=Las películas sobre el maquis español: de la historia oficial a la memoria histórica|trans-title=Movies about the Spanish “Maquis”: from the Official History to the Historical Memory|issn=0214-400X|doi=10.5209/rev_CHCO.2012.v34.40069|url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/CHCO/article/view/40069/38498|doi-access=free}}
Rosa María Sardá as Betibú
Juanjo Ballesta as Finito Chacón

}}

Production

Based on the 1993 novel El embrujo de Shanghai by Juan Marsé, the screenplay was penned by the director Fernando Trueba.{{Cite web|url=http://www.madrid.org/bvirtual/BVCM002370.pdf|page=182|publisher=Comunidad de Madrid. Consejería de Cultura y Deportes. Dirección General de Promoción Cultura|title=Cine y literatura española. Guía de largometrajes}} A joint co-production among companies from Spain, France and the United Kingdom, the film was produced by Lolafilms, Shangai Spell Ltda, Pyramide Productions, and Orsan Productions and it had the participation of Antena 3 Televisión, Telemadrid and {{ill|Vía Digital|es}}.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mcu.es/comun/bases/cine/Anuarios/2002/P61701.pdf|publisher=Ministerio de Cultura|title=El embrujo de Shanghai|access-date=20 February 2022}}

Awards

The Shanghai Spell was nominated in several categories at the 17th Goya Awards in February 2003. The film won the awards for Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyles; and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Supervision.