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Robert Plays: Salvador Dali
Additional Cast: Javier Beltran, Matthew McNulty, Arly Jover, Marina Gatell
Director: Paul Morrison
Writer: Philippa Goslett
Release Date: May 9, 2009 (US)
Producers: Carlo Dusi, Jonny Persey and Jaume Vilalta
Status: US distribution in March 2009 through Regent. UK release - Spring 2009.
Genre: Drama
SYNOPSIS
Madrid in 1922 is a city wavering on the edge of change as traditional values are challenged by the dangerous new influences of jazz, Freud and the avant-garde. Salvador Dalí arrives at university at the age of 18 years old, determined to become a great artist. His bizarre blend of shyness and rampant exhibitionism attracts the attention of two of the university’s social elite — Federico García Lorca and Luis Buñuel.
Salvador is absorbed into their decadent group and for a time he, Luis and Federico become a formidable trio, the most ultra-modern group in Madrid. However, as time passes, Salvador feels an increasingly strong pull toward the charismatic Federico — who is oblivious to the attention he is getting from his beautiful writer friend, Magdalena. Finally, in the face of his friends’ preoccupations — and Federico’s growing renown as a poet — Luis sets off for Paris in search of his own artistic success.
Alone in Madrid, Federico struggles against his psyche, tortured by the damning implications of his own religious beliefs and the undeniable voice of his flesh. He is haunted by news of Salvador, who is collaborating on a Surrealist film with Luis and has embarked on an affair with Gala, a married woman.
By 1936 Spain is teetering on the precipice of civil war, and Federico, now a highly acclaimed and controversial playwright, receives an invitation to dinner from Salvador and Gala. But the hosts have a rather unusual agenda and the evening is a disaster. A week later, Salvador is hosting a party when he discovers that Federico has been assassinated in the outbreak of war. The walls of self-denial that surround the artist come crashing down as he realizes, too late, the depth of his love for Federico.
ROBERT'S CHARACTER
Salvador Dalí was born in Catalonia, Spain in 1904. He was named after his father and deceased brother and was told by his parents that he was a reincarnation of his brother. Salvador worshipped his mother and was devastated when she died from breast cancer when he was 16.
He attended the Residencia de Estudiantes where he met poet Federico García Lorca and filmmaker Luis Buñuel. Although he and Buñuel would later go on to work on the film Un Chien Andalou together, it was García Lorca with whom he was exceptionally close. The two maintained a special friendship that had many elements of passion during time they were students.
Dalí’s time at the university ended when he was expelled for telling his professors that none of them was good enough to judge and grade him. However, Dalí’s growing fame in the artistic community inspired him to try new ventures, leaving his old friends behind. Soon, Dalí was caught up in the world of celebrity, especially after he met his wife, Gala. The two were the tabloid couple of their time.
Dalí continued to work and paint throughout his life, although he was shunned by the Surrealists for his political views. However, this did not affect the flamboyant Dalí. In his opinion, he was the reason for the Surrealist movement.
By the time he died in 1989, Salvador Dalí and his art were known the world over. He achieved great fame during his Surrealist period, during which he created some of his most well-known works, including “Persistence of Memory” and “The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used as a Table.” Dalí is often credited with being one of the most well-known members of the Surrealist movement, although it has been said that he is also the one that sought out fame the most.
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Little Ashes On IMDB
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