The Confessions of Amans (film)

Infobox_Film
name = The Confessions of Amans


caption =
writer = Gregory Nava
Anna Thomas
starring = William Bryan
director = Gregory Nava
cinematography = Gregory Nava
editing = Gregory Nava
music =
producer = Anna Thomas
Gregory Nava
distributor = American Film Institute
Bauer International
released = November 17, 1977
runtime = 88 minutes
country = United States
language = English
budget = $24,000
amg_id = 1:87754
imdb_id = 0177653|

"The Confessions of Amans" (1977) is an American 16mm drama film directed by Gregory Nava and written by Nava and his then newly wed wife Anna Thomas. [imdb title| id=0177653|title=The Confessions of Amans.]

The picture was partly funded by the American Film Institute.

Plot

This costume drama, set in medieval Spain, is about an itinerant student of philosophy hired by an uneducated Lord to tutor his wife.

Soon, the newly employed teacher tragically falls in love with his student.

Background

The film was produced in Spain and made on an estimated shoestring budget of $24,000 according to Roger Ebert. [ [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040801/REVIEWS08/408010301/1023 Ebert, Roger] . "Chicago Sun-Times," August 1, 2004.] Nava used English stage performers for a cast. And, Nava and Thomas, in order to save money, used costumes and props left over from Samuel Bronston's "El Cid" said Vincent Canby. Film locations include castles of ancient Segovia, Spain.

Cast

* William Bryan as Amans
* Michael St. John as Absalom
* Richard Gardener as Petrus
* Susannah MacMillan as Anne
* Leon Liberman as Arnolfo
* Feliciano Ituero Bravo as Nicholas
* Stephen Bateman as Landlord

Distribution

"The Confessions of Amans" was first presented in 1976 at the Chicago International Film Festival. Later in a limited release the film opened in New York, New York on November 17, 1977.

Critical reception

Vincent Canby, film critic for "The New York Times" liked the film and wrote, "The Confessions of Amans" was a very beautiful film, though not an especially pretty one, a chilly, tightly disciplined tale of the tragic love affair of a young philosophy tutor and the wife of the lord of the manor. Like the great Robert Bresson, Mr. Nava appeared to be less interested in the heat of the passion of the lovers than in the succession of moral choices their passion represented." [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804E7DD1E38F931A15752C0A962948260 Canby, Vincent] . "The New York Times," film review, January 22, 1984.]

In addition, an unsigned film review written for "The New York Times" wrote, " [the movie] is a beautiful, muted film of the kind that takes some getting used to. People seldom raise their voices or lose control of themselves. Passion is expressed discreetly in glances or in the holding of hands." [ [http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?title1=Confessions%20of%20Amans%2C%20The%20(Movie)&title2=&reviewer=&pdate=19771118&v_id= "The New York Times"] . "A Romance Of Medieval Spain," film review, November 18, 1977.]

Awards

Wins
* Chicago International Film Festival: Gold Hugo Award, Best First Feature Award, 1976.

References

External links

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