The story of nine-year old Maria and her father Marcelino who, in 1879, found the first pre-historic cave paintings at the now world famous Altamira cave.
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Waste of time
Very best movie i ever watch
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
Real easy to critic it. for the not examplary respect for accuracy of story, for dialogues and for too obvious fight between Church and science. but it has a small significant virtue - it is the right film for the child inside us from the early history lessons, when the teacher spoke about Altamira and Lascaux. for this child, recognosible in the traits of the girl, "Finding Altamira" has virtues of magic. or late answer. the film is far to be great. but it is a decent one, with a good job of Antonio Banderas and Rupert Everett in a surprising role. sure, it could be better. but , maybe, another director and scriptwriter are more inspired.
Like the trailer, which soars with a sense of greatness, this is a beautiful film that stayed with me, and keeps recurring to my mind weeks later. No spoilers in this review, I'll just recommend the story to original thinkers who know how hard it is to stand against the crowd and state the truth, because it is the truth. And to keep faith with yourself--against the universe if need be. If you are religious and worry that this story will attack your love of God, I don't think that will happen. If you believe that God created existence; then exploring this beauty cannot be a threat to God. If you hold no beliefs but rely on reason to understand the world around you, then you will revere Marcelino de Sautuola's courage, vision and unbending spirit. I take away his story to stay with me as I walk through life.
Based upon a true story1879 in Spain, Marcelino (Antonio Banderas) discovers a cave that contains drawings from the Paleolithic Era (Stone Age). Of course, this claim is disputed as a forgery by the main Council of Anthropologists, the Catholic Church that criticized Marcelino for his scientific not religious views, the press that prints he is unfit to be a father and worse of all by Conchita (Golshifteh Farahani) his wife who sides with the Church. Most believed that the cavemen did not have the intellectual capacity to perform the drawings. Marcelino stands his ground although he is thoroughly humiliated. His 9-year old daughter Maria (Allegra Allen) who was the one who actually discovered the cave drawings of bisons stands by him. Marcelino determines how the cavemen did the drawings in a dark cave without putting soot on the ceilings. But he could not figure out why the walls showed bisons when no bison bones were ever found in the area. (The movie didn't address this either)I really liked the Confessional Scene between Conchita and the head priest when she tells him off really good and defends her husband . (Hey, I cheered when she did this) She came around when she learned how the Cavemen did the drawings without putting soot on the cave ceilings and then she tells Marcelino she wants to see the cave. It must have been her belief in him that mattered the most to Marcelino. And it should have. Marcelino learned that finding the truth isn't all that easy. After Marcelino's death, his chief critic, Emile Cartailhac (Clement Sibony), admitted his mistake and issued an apology in the main Anthropologic magazine. The acting all around is good, but when everyone spoke with a Spanish accent it was sometimes difficult to understand all dialogues, but we got the idea eventually. The young Maria was the only one who spoke clearly without any accent. (You go girl!)Go to Wikipedia to learn more about these famous Altamira drawings from the Paleolithic Era. Wikipedia says some of the drawings in that cave go back 35,000+ years. (7/10)Violence: No. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.
The man who discovered the Altamira Caves was a shepherd named Modesto Cubillas.The person who the film says is the discoverer, Marcelino Saenz de Sautola is only the owner of the land but the film insists on giving all the importance to this man. Do you know why? The family Botin & Sainz de Sautuola is one of the most powerful families in Spain (owners of Santander Bank), they are creepy aristocrats who want to honor his ancestor with a lie. The family Botin & Sainz de Sautuola are who sponsor the film. Poor Modesto Cubillas, you were "only" a shepherd with no money.