The Captive

The setting is Algiers in the year 1575. The protagonist is one of the most important storytellers of all time. While his literary work reshaped the Spanish language, bringing it into the modern era, little is known about the life of Miguel de Cervantes. The icon, interpreted in this instance by Julio Peña Fernández, is held for ransom as a young ex-soldier, and the narrative astutely presents him on the verge of discovering his true calling and abilities.

Far from being a canonical depiction of the few facts that have transcended history, in the hands of visionary writer-director Alejandro Amenábar (The Others; The Sea Inside, TIFF ’04; While at War, TIFF ’19) the drama unfolds as a complete, bold retelling of plausible events. Peña Fernández’s Cervantes is fully embodied and complex, forced to discover humanity in the seemingly alien world of his captors. Despite the dire situation he finds himself in, Cervantes makes use of his talents and captures the attention of Hasan, the Bajá of Algiers (Italian star Alessandro Borghi), with whom he develops a shifting connection that alters his fate.

The production is exquisitely designed, with a rich and textured quality captured by cinematographer Alex Catalán. Its careful use of light and attentive direction bolster finely tuned performances by Peña Fernández and Borghi, taking audiences on a journey to a fraught place and time, offering a window into the mind of the resourceful author of the foundational masterpiece Don Quixote.

DIANA CADAVID

Content advisory: violence, coarse language, sexual content