# The Grandfather
**The Grandfather** (*El abuelo*) is a 1998 Spanish drama film written, produced and directed by José Luis Garci, adapted from [Benito Pérez Galdós](https://www.edgepedia.org/benito-perez-galdos)'s 1897 novel of the same title. It stars Fernando Fernán Gómez as Don Rodrigo, an impoverished aristocrat who returns from the Americas to his village in Asturias after his son's death and tries to discover which of his two granddaughters is his son's true daughter. The film was Spain's candidate for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards, where it received a nomination.[1](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/The_Grandfather?hl=en_CA&id=8F5620CE2BEBF286MV) • [2](https://www.servimedia.es/noticias/abuelo-garci-candidata-espanola-para-competir-eloscar-mejor-pelicula-extranjera/1410992601)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | *El abuelo*; English release title The Grandfather[3](https://www.ecartelera.com/peliculas/el-abuelo/) |
| Director and writers | Written, produced and directed by José Luis Garci; screenplay with Horacio Valcárcel; source novel by Benito Pérez Galdós (1897)[1](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/The_Grandfather?hl=en_CA&id=8F5620CE2BEBF286MV) |
| Lead cast | Fernando Fernán Gómez (Don Rodrigo de Arista Potestad), Cayetana Guillén Cuervo (Doña Lucrecia Richmond), Rafael Alonso (Don Pío Coronado), Agustín González (Senén Corchado)[4](https://www.watchmode.com/movie/the-grandfather) |
| Release and length | Spain, 30 October 1998; 151 minutes[5](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt0176415/) |
| Academy Award | Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards[1](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/The_Grandfather?hl=en_CA&id=8F5620CE2BEBF286MV) |
| Goya Award | Fernando Fernán Gómez won the 1999 Goya for Best Leading Actor[6](https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2024/12/20/jose-luis-garci-explica-por-que-nunca-hace-castings-a-mi-no-me-tiene-que-decir-nadie-cadena-ser/) |
| Production | Budget over 400 million pesetas, produced by Nickel Odeón for Televisión Española[7](https://elpais.com/diario/1997/10/18/radiotv/877125601_850215.html) |
| US reception | Metascore 57 (mixed or average); US and Canada gross USD 54,468[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-grandfather/critic-reviews/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt0176415/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Don Rodrigo de Arista Potestad, Count of Albrit, an elderly, half-blind aristocrat who lost his fortune seeking gold in the Americas, returns to his village in northwestern Spain after learning of his only son's death. A letter left by his son reveals that one of his two granddaughters, Dolly (Cristina Cruz) and Nelly (Alicia Rozas), was born of an adulterous affair between his English-born daughter-in-law, Doña Lucrecia Richmond (Cayetana Guillén Cuervo), and a Parisian painter.[9](https://www.altfg.com/the-grandfather-1998-movie-review/)
Intent on identifying his "real" granddaughter and the continuation of the family bloodline, Don Rodrigo clashes with Lucrecia, who refuses to reveal which child is illegitimate and at one point tries to have her father-in-law committed to a monastery. As the crisis deepens, the count is forced to weigh his notions of family honor against his love for both girls.[9](https://www.altfg.com/the-grandfather-1998-movie-review/) • [10](https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/film/the-grandfather/)
## Production
Garci had long wanted to film *El abuelo* and said he aimed for "a Galdós in pure state," faithful to the narrative vigor and characters of the novel. The production was a co-production of Nickel Odeón for Televisión Española, with a budget of more than 400 million pesetas, more than double what Garci had previously had available, and was shot partly in rural Asturias over twelve planned weeks of filming.[7](https://elpais.com/diario/1997/10/18/radiotv/877125601_850215.html) Garci said the lead role was obvious to him: "No one can tell me who has to play El abuelo; I already know it is Fernando Fernán Gómez."[6](https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2024/12/20/jose-luis-garci-explica-por-que-nunca-hace-castings-a-mi-no-me-tiene-que-decir-nadie-cadena-ser/)
The Spanish Academy selected the film, on the day of its Spanish premiere, as Spain's candidate for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.[2](https://www.servimedia.es/noticias/abuelo-garci-candidata-espanola-para-competir-eloscar-mejor-pelicula-extranjera/1410992601) The film belongs to a trilogy of melodramas Garci began with *Canción de cuna* (1994) and continued with *La herida luminosa* (1997).[11](https://cvc.cervantes.es/literatura/aih/pdf/15/aih_15_3_055.pdf)
## Adaptation history
Galdós's novel had been filmed several times before Garci's version. The first screen adaptation was made in the author's lifetime, in 1916, produced by Studio Film and shot under the title *La duda* by the Catalan actor-director Domenech Ceret. José Buchs directed another version in 1925, and Rafael Gil filmed the story again in 1972 as *La duda*, starring [Fernando Rey](https://www.edgepedia.org/fernando-rey), who won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián Festival for the performance; Gil moved the action to the 1930s.[11](https://cvc.cervantes.es/literatura/aih/pdf/15/aih_15_3_055.pdf) A 1943 Mexican film, *Adulterio*, directed by the exiled Spaniard José Díaz Morales, was also based on the novel, transferring the action to early twentieth-century Mexico.[12](https://revistas.grancanaria.com/index.php/cig/article/download/11053/cig/14059)
Garci's screenplay made a notable change in emphasis: it gives Lucrecia a prologue in which her lover, a government minister, abandons her to protect his political career, and it builds her into a co-protagonist equal to the count rather than the frivolous figure of earlier versions. In this telling she reveals her secret by her own decision, out of a recognition of the injustice of her conduct.[13](https://cvc.cervantes.es/el_rinconete/anteriores/febrero_16/17022016_01.htm)
## Reception and awards
The film received a Metascore of 57, indicating mixed or average reviews, with 8 positive, 6 mixed, and 1 negative review among critics surveyed. The Los Angeles Times called it "a wise and beautiful film," and The New York Times praised its understanding of "the complexities of relationships, the frailties of humankind and the possibilities of joy"; dissenting critics cited funereal pacing and a contrived ending.[8](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-grandfather/critic-reviews/) Reviewers repeatedly noted the slow, dialogue-driven pace and the 151-minute runtime as the film's main demands on the viewer.[4](https://www.watchmode.com/movie/the-grandfather)
At the 1999 [Goya Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/goya-awards) the film received one win and thirteen nominations, with Fernando Fernán Gómez winning Best Leading Actor and further nominations including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.[14](https://www.cine.com/pelicula/el-abuelo) The Spanish Cinema Writers Circle awarded it Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress for Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, and a tie for Best Actor between Fernando Fernán Gómez and Rafael Alonso.[9](https://www.altfg.com/the-grandfather-1998-movie-review/) In the United States, where Miramax distributed it, the film earned USD 54,468 in the US and Canada.[5](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt0176415/)
## Style
Critics describe Garci's approach as melancholy and deliberately old-fashioned: long takes, slow camera movements, golden cinematography by Raúl Pérez Cubero, and a score by Manuel Balboa, with somewhat theatrical performances. The film evokes the rugged coast of northwestern Spain and a way of life that had largely disappeared, and it stands apart from most Spanish cinema of its period.[13](https://cvc.cervantes.es/el_rinconete/anteriores/febrero_16/17022016_01.htm) • [9](https://www.altfg.com/the-grandfather-1998-movie-review/)
## References
1. [The Grandfather, Google Play Movies listing](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/The_Grandfather?hl=en_CA&id=8F5620CE2BEBF286MV)
2. ["El abuelo", de Garci, candidata española para competir por el Oscar, Servimedia (30 October 1998)](https://www.servimedia.es/noticias/abuelo-garci-candidata-espanola-para-competir-eloscar-mejor-pelicula-extranjera/1410992601)
3. [El abuelo (1998), eCartelera](https://www.ecartelera.com/peliculas/el-abuelo/)
4. [The Grandfather (1998), Watchmode](https://www.watchmode.com/movie/the-grandfather)
5. [El abuelo (1998), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/es/title/tt0176415/)
6. [José Luis Garci explica por qué nunca hace castings, Cadena SER (2024)](https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2024/12/20/jose-luis-garci-explica-por-que-nunca-hace-castings-a-mi-no-me-tiene-que-decir-nadie-cadena-ser/)
7. [José Luis Garci elige 'El abuelo', de Galdós, para volver a TVE, El País (18 October 1997)](https://elpais.com/diario/1997/10/18/radiotv/877125601_850215.html)
8. [The Grandfather Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-grandfather/critic-reviews/)
9. [The Grandfather (1998) Movie Review: Stellar Fernando Fernán Gómez, Alt Film Guide](https://www.altfg.com/the-grandfather-1998-movie-review/)
10. [The Grandfather review, Video Librarian (2000)](https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/film/the-grandfather/)
11. [El «abuelo» galdosiano en el cine mudo español, Centro Virtual Cervantes (AIH)](https://cvc.cervantes.es/literatura/aih/pdf/15/aih_15_3_055.pdf)
12. [The Grandfather of Galdós to the Mexican Cinema, Anuario de Investigación de la Cátedra UNESCO](https://revistas.grancanaria.com/index.php/cig/article/download/11053/cig/14059)
13. [Benito Pérez Galdós y el cine español (3): El abuelo, Rinconete, Instituto Cervantes (2016)](https://cvc.cervantes.es/el_rinconete/anteriores/febrero_16/17022016_01.htm)
14. [The Grandfather (El abuelo), Cine.com](https://www.cine.com/pelicula/el-abuelo)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 1990s › Drama films late 1990s › Released 1995 to 1998*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
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