# Alatriste

Alatriste is a 2006 Spanish epic historical war film directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes, based on the main character of a series of novels written by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, The Adventures of Captain Alatriste (Las aventuras del Capitán Alatriste).
The film, which stars Viggo Mortensen, is the second most expensive Spanish language film ever made in Spain (about €24 million – US$30 million); only preceded by Agora. It portrays Spain of the 17th century using both fictional and real characters. Twentieth Century Fox has bought the rights to the film.
The film was released on 1 September 2006.

## Plot

The story takes place during the 17th century in the Spanish Empire. Diego Alatriste is a soldier in the service of King Philip IV of Spain during the Eighty Years' War. The story begins in the Spanish Netherlands, where his tercio fights in the Dutch Revolt. His friend Lope Balboa is killed during the fighting, and Alatriste returns to Madrid where he takes Lope's young son Íñigo into his care.
Alatriste is hired along with a Sicilian assassin named Gualterio Malatesta to kill the Prince of Wales (the future King Charles I of England) and his companion, the Duke of Buckingham. The job is contracted by Emilio Bocanegra and Luis de Alquézar (uncle of Íñigo's love interest, Angélica de Alquézar). Alatriste finally returns to the Netherlands in 1624 (although the movie states 1625) and participates in the final battles leading to Breda's surrender. After returning to Spain, Íñigo wants to elope with Angélica, but she gets cold feet at the last moment. Alatriste has a romance with actress María de Castro. Because she was disappointed that she failed to marry him, she became the lover of Philip IV. Alatriste ends up crossing swords with Guadalmedina, a friend of the king. In the end, the object of their attention falls ill with syphilis. The duel with his friend Martín Saldaña and the punishment of Íñigo in the galleys are part of the film's spectacular ending.
The last scenes are at the Battle of Rocroi (May 1643), described in the last book of The Adventures of Captain Alatriste saga. During the battle, Abel Moreno Gómez's "La Madrugá" is playing as the defeated army's march and this is where it is assumed that Alatriste dies.
The plot of the film has elements from each of the five books published up to the premiere, and it maintains the same storyline for the main characters. It includes excerpts from the future books of the saga.

## Cast

* Viggo Mortensen as Captain Diego Alatriste
* Javier Cámara as Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares
* Eduardo Noriega as the Count of Guadalmedina
* Juan Echanove as the poet Francisco de Quevedo
* Unax Ugalde as Íñigo de Balboa, Alatriste's Basque squire
* Elena Anaya as Angélica de Alquézar, a teenaged femme fatale
* Ariadna Gil as María de Castro, Alatriste's actress lover
* Eduard Fernández as Sebastián Copons, Alatriste's closest friend
* Francesc Garrido as Martín Saldaña, the local sheriff
* Blanca Portillo as the inquisitor fray Emilio Bocanegra
* Antonio Dechent as Curro Garrote, a soldier friend of Alastriste
* Paco Tous as Francisco de Melo
* Enrico Lo Verso as Gualterio Malatesta, an Italian swordsman and Alatriste's nemesis
* Luis Zahera as Luis Pereira, a Portuguese soldier
* Pilar Bardem as nun
* Simon Cohen as Philip IV
* Pilar López de Ayala as Malatesta's wife
Antonio Resines, originally slated to appear as Saldaña, almost retired from the entire movie due to a traffic accident; however, he makes a cameo appearance in the Battle of Rocroi as a musketeer officer.

## Reception
### Critical response

Alatriste has an approval rating of 17% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 6 reviews, and an average rating of 4.1/10.

### Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2007 | 12th Forqué Award | Best Film | Best Film | Nominated |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Film | Best Film | Nominated |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Actor | Viggo Mortensen | Nominated |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Director | Agustín Díaz Yanes | Nominated |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | Agustín Díaz Yanes | Nominated |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Juan Echanove | Nominated |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Ariadna Gil | Nominated |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Production Supervision | Cristina Zumárraga | Won |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Original Score | Roque Baños | Nominated |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Art Direction | Benjamín Fernández | Won |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Costume Design | Francesca Sartori | Won |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Cinematography | Paco Femenía [ca] | Nominated |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Editing | José Salcedo | Nominated |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Makeup and Hairstyles | José Luis Pérez | Nominated |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Sound | Dominique Hennequin, Patrice Grisolet, Pierre Gamet | Nominated |
| 2007 | 21st Goya Awards | Best Special Effects | Reyes Abades, Rafael Solorzano | Nominated |
| 2007 | 16th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actor in a Minor Role | Javier Cámara | Nominated |