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Movie Info & Details
Release Year1987
Runtime2h 03m
LanguageSpanish
CertificationNR
GenresDrama
Votes39
DirectorVicente Aranda
WritersEleuterio Sánchez, Vicente Aranda, Joaquín Jordá
TypeFeature Film
Rating5.7 out of 10
Cast10 credited
Also Known AsLute: Forge On or Die
About Lute: Forge On or Die
In Spain of the 1960s, a poor family of quinquis - a nomadic ethnic group with a tradition as old as that of the gypsises of Spain but with even more obscure origins - have a nomadic life marked by poverty. The son, Eleuterio Sánchez Rodriguez, nicknamed "El Lute", steals some chickens and is condemned to six months in jail. El Lute moves to the slum outskirts of Madrid with his common law wife, Chelo, starting an itinerant life as a peddler of pots and pans and living in a quinqui shantytown. He gradually embarks upon as life of petty criminality, eventually participating in the theft of a jewelry store during which a bystander is killed.
Directed by Vicente Aranda, Lute: Forge On or Die leans on a strong ensemble — Imanol Arias, Victoria Abril, Antonio Valero — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1987.
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