La Sabina is a 1979 fantasy drama film written and directed by José Luis Borau. The cast features Ángela Molina, Jon Finch, Harriet Anderson, Simon Ward, Ovidi Montllor, and Carol Kane. It is a Spanish-Swedish co-production.
Plot Set in the Andalusian village of Jarros in the late 1970s, the plot follows an English author who moves to Spain to write a biography about English Romantic poet Hyatt, who went missing in the aforementioned village of the Serranía de Ronda. In the village, he heards about the myth of La Sabina, a she-dragon who, according to tradition, lures her victims and devours them. Likewise he falls for local woman Pepa, who has a retarded brother, Manolín.
Cast Ángela Molina as Pepa Jon Finch as Michael Simon Ward as Philip Harriet Andersson as Monica Carol Kane as Daisy Ovidi Montllor as Manolín Fernando Sánchez Polack as Félix Francisco Sánchez as Antonio
Production Shooting locations included the . In an retrospective interview tackling the cast, Borau stated that he was only satisfied by the work of Ángela Molina, Carol Kane and Ovidi Montllor.
Release The film was released theatrically in Spain on 21 November 1979.
Themes In the film's depiction of the monstrous-feminine, the female body is feared as castrator, rather than as castrated.
Reception Jesús Fernández Santos of El País observed that Molina's "artistry and instinct bring a proper scope to the scenes in which she stars".
Accolades
| rowspan = "2" | || rowspan = "2" | 35th CEC Awards || Best Director || José Luis Borau || || rowspan = "2" | |- | Best Supporting Actress || Carol Kane ||
See also List of Spanish films of 1979
References
External links El cine de la 2 presentation of the film on RTVE Play