La novia

The countryside of Southern Spain, somewhere in the 1930s. The earth is scorched, the houses are dilapidated. The Bride (La novia) is preparing for her impending marriage to the Bridegroom. In childhood they formed an inseparable trinity with Leonardo, until a family blood feud brought the idyll to an end. Years later, their marriage is intended as the best way to lay the persistent feud to rest. But the bond between the Bride and Leonardo is stronger than anything and the Bride is torn between passion and duty.
That this doesn’t end well is made clear by Paula Ortiz early on in her visually brilliant adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s play Blood Wedding. Even so, the path to the fateful ending remains just as engrossing as the forbidden love between the Bride and Leonardo. Ortiz has incorporated a good deal of García Lorca’s poetic language and songs. The film won no fewer than 12 nominations for the Goyas, the Spanish film awards.

Watch the film online with English subtitling exclusively via Festival Scope.