in filming
Javier Rey, Verónica Echegui and Tamar Novas star in the screen adaptation of the novel by Almudena Grandes
Javier Rey, Verónica Echegui and Tamar Novas star in the screen adaptation, in the form of a television series, of the novel by Almudena Grandes ‘The Patients of Doctor García’. The series, destined for Netflix, is directed by Joan Noguera.
The novel is the fourth installment of the unfinished series by Almudena Grandes ‘Episodes of an endless war’ (‘Inés and joy’, ‘The reader of Jules Verne’, ‘The three weddings of Manolita’ and ‘The mother of Frankenstein’ ) and tells a story that connects real and unknown events of World War II and the Franco regime, to build the lives of some characters who not only share the fate of Spain, but also that of Argentina. Actor Javier Rey will play Dr. Guillermo García in the series, Tamar Novas will play Manuel Arroyo, his best friend, and Verónica Echegui will be Amparo Priego.
Along with them, a wide cast that includes names like Jon Olivares (Adrián Gallardo), Eva Llorach (Clara Stauffer), Stephanie Cayo (Meg Williams), Claudia Traisac (Rita Velázquez), Raúl Jiménez (Pepe Moya), Nancho Novo (Fortunato Quintanilla), Pepa Pedroche (Experta Fernández), Luis Bermejo (Juan Negrín), Enrique Villén (Pirulo), Mario de la Rosa (Alfonso Navarro), Daniel Albaladejo (Antonio Ochoa), Martina Gusmán (Simona Gaitán), Itziar Atienza (Geni León), Toni Sevilla (Gabino de la Fuente), Iñaki Miramón (Basilio Rodríguez), Javier Lara (Jesús Romero), Marius Biegai (Otto Skorzeny), Carmen Molinar (Ingrid Weiss) and Eduard Farelo (Pablo De Azcárate).
The plot will narrate how, after Franco’s victory in the Civil War, Dr. Guillermo García Medina (Javier Rey) continues to live in Madrid under a false identity. The documentation that freed him from the wall was a gift from his best friend, Manuel Arroyo Benítez (Tamar Novas), a Republican diplomat whose life he saved in 1937. Dr. García believes that he will never see him again, but in September 1946, Manuel returns from exile with a secret and dangerous mission. The republican diplomat intends to infiltrate a clandestine organization, the network of evasion of war criminals and fugitives from the Third Reich that he directs from the Galileo street in Madrid’s Argüelles neighborhood, a German and Spanish woman, Nazi and Falangist, called Clara Stauffer (Eva cryach).
While Dr. García allows himself to be recruited by Manuel, another Spaniard crosses the fate of the two friends: Adrián Gallardo Ortega (Jon Olivares). He had his moment of glory as a professional boxer before enlisting in the Blue Division to continue fighting as an SS volunteer and participate in the last defense of Berlin from Russian troops. Now he lives badly in Germany and ignores that someone tries to supplant his identity to flee to Perón’s Argentina.
Although several works by Almudena Grandes have been made into movies (‘The ages of Lulu’, ‘Malena is a name of tango’, ‘The difficult airs’), this will be the first time that one of her novels will reach the small screen . The series is a Diagonal TV (Banijay Iberia) production for Netflix. There is no possible release date yet.
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