Biopic pays homage to the ‘Phoenix of Spain’

AMMAN. Plays title role in “Lope.”

He was known as El Fénix de España (the Phoenix of Spain) and Cervantes famously dubbed him a monstruo de naturaleza—a freak of nature—but, for this writer, the most interesting detail about the celebrated playwright, Lope de Vega, isn’t his prodigious literary output or his numerous love affairs, but that he may be something of a family connection. This added an extra dimension to my enjoyment of the film, “Lope,” a dramatization of a particularly exciting period in his life.

A contemporary of Shakespeare’s, De Vega was the leading force in Spanish drama during Spain’s Golden Age, transforming it by moving away from its Greek-tragedy roots and establishing the dominance of the comedia, which he raised to unparalleled heights.

There are around 1,800 plays attributed to him, of which almost 500 remain extant to this day. This alone is a phenomenal body of work, but he didn’t stop there—he also managed to pen several novels and around 3,000 sonnets. Now, who wouldn’t want to claim some relation to that!

Colorful life

It isn’t just for his literary works that Lope is known. He’s also famous for having led a life that was as colorful and tragicomic as any of his comedias. We get to see only some parts of it in “Lope,” which takes a few liberties with the actual chronology in order to heighten the tension. Whatever departures from the facts are easily forgivable, however, as the film does succeed in painting a clear and vibrant picture of a singularly driven man who’s on the cusp of greatness.

Directed by Brazilian director, Andrucha Waddington, the movie stars Argentinean actor, Alberto Amman, in the title role, with Pilar López de Ayala as Elena Osorio and Leonor Watling as Isabel de Urbina. It runs for less than two hours and is more fast-paced than you’d expect a story about a literary figure’s life to be—but then, Lope de Vega wasn’t exactly the desk-bound type!

Waddington and company chose to focus on Lope’s tumultuous early life, when he first began making a name for himself as a playwright, a poet, and a lover. It shows a brash, young man returning home from the wars (it should be Philip II’s conquest of the Azores in 1583, but it may be the Armada), and living life to the fullest. This includes getting heavily involved with a married woman, Elena Osorio, making powerful friends and enemies, and running off with a young noblewoman, Isabel de Urbina, with angry relatives hot on their heels.

It’s a story that has all the makings of a classic comedia del capa y espada, with the filmmakers wisely not dwelling on melodramatic scenes, choosing instead to keep the plot moving by throwing in more twists and intrigues.

Attention to detail

Amman gives an energetic performance as Lope, making his character feel more immediate, but it’s the nuanced portrayals of Watling and López de Ayala that add depth and richness to the tale. The film also has a striking palette that’s dark and saturated, and the attention to detail in terms of the costumes and setting is superb.

“Lope” works very well as a homage to a lion of Spanish literature whose life mirrored his works, and vice versa. And, if watching it will make you want to learn more about his oeuvre—which isn’t as well-known in the English-speaking world as Cervantes’—then, so much the better!