
Informative but not dramatically charged, this fictional documentary looks at an incident in 1976 when a group of dissidents were forcibly exiled to an island hotel in order to keep them silenced during the visit of King Carlos of Spain to France. This pseudo-documentary features a Canadian filmmaker who is looking into the group of dissidents. He interviews them to get the story of what happened recorded for posterity. Among the group was another man of Spanish ancestry who suddenly arrived on the island but managed to find a way out. His future exploits are brought into question since there are certain terrorist connotations to his character.
Directed by Gabriel Auer, Royal Vacation leans on a strong ensemble — Agnès Château, Didier Sauvegrain, Emilio Sánchez-Ortiz — 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 1981.
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Manuel Artiguez, a famous bandit during the Spanish civil war, has lived in French exile for 20 years. When his mother is dying he considers visiting her secretly in his Spanish home town. But his biggest enemy, the Spanish police officer Vinolas, prepared a trap at the hospital as a chance to finally catch Artiguez.
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