The Captive

This year’s New Spanish Cinema Opening Night Gala includes delicious tapas, savory Serrano ham, and wine tasting. But the main event is the West Coast premiere of the new epic from Alejandro Amenábar (Open Your Eyes; The Others; The Sea Inside; Agora). The prisoner of the title is none other than Miguel de Cervantes (Julio Peña), later to author Don Quixote. A soldier wounded at the Battle of Lepanto and captured by Ottoman corsairs, Cervantes is held for ransom in Algiers in 1575, eventually falling into the hands of Hasan, the Bajá of Algiers (Italian star Alessandro Borghi). Their relationship is the backbone of this ingenious and fast-moving historical drama, with Cervantes using his wits and imagination to try to engineer an escape.

According to Amenábar, this is “An origin story about the man who invented the modern novel.” But also, “A high adventure, a prison drama and melodrama.” One thing it’s not, is a conventional biopic — little is known about the real Cervantes’ life, and in the spirit of Quixote, the filmmakers show no hesitation to let their imagination fill the void.

Note: the buffet will be served Spanish-style, after the screening

Delightfully subversive.

Olivia Popp, Cineuropa

A fascinating adventure film, about sexual liberation and about the meaning of fiction.

uis Martinez, El Mundo

A handsomely made, compulsively watchable film.

Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture