CAMUS, MARIO

(1935- )

Mario Camus started in the film industry as second unit director in 1959. He contributed to the script ofCarlos Saura'sLos golfos(The Lazy Young Men, 1959), even before he completed his degree on film direction at theInstituto de Investigaciones y Experiencias Cinematográficas. Although not an innovator and lacking the personal perspective one associates withPedro AlmodóvarorLuis G.Berlanga, Camus, in his parallel careers as scriptwriter and director, is an emblematic figure in Spanish film history, adapting to circumstances and attempting risky, substantial projects in a variety of contexts.

His first film as director wasLos farsantes(The Fakers, 1963), adapted from a short story by Daniel Sueiro. In the mid-1960s, his adaptations of Ignacio Aldecoa'sYoung Sánchez(1964) andCon el viento solano(With the Southern Wind, 1967) brought him into close contact withNuevo cine españolfilmmakers, but whereas colleagues likeBasilio Martín PatinoorFrancisco Regueiroexperimented with form, he opted for a classical approach. When auteurist cinema hit hard times at the end of the 1960s, Camus survived in commercial genre films, includingpop musicalswith Raphael (Al ponerse el sol[At Sunset] 1967,Digan lo que digan[Whatever They Say], 1968) andSara Montiel(Esamujer[That Woman], 1969), and even aspaghetti Western(Lacólera del viento[Rage of the Wind], 1970). Unlike other colleagues, he easily accepted a turn totelevisionwhen he could find nothing else, adapting novels like Galdós'Fortunata y Jacinta(1980) into quality miniseries.

Two main strands run through his long career.The first is theliterary adaptation, shot in a tasteful classical style. He became something of a specialist in the genre in the 1980s, when he was at the helm of bothLa Colmena(The Beehive, 1982), based on Camilo José Cela's novel, andLos Santos Inocentes(The Holy Innocents, 1984), an adaptation of Miguel Delibes' short novel. In both cases, the film version looked more carefully put together and generally clearer and less ambiguous than the background described in the books (in contrast, one could think of the work ofVicente Aranda, another master literary adaptor who dares to take risks in the transfer). Both were also linear retellings of far more complex structures.

The second strand is more interesting and more substantial: a number of Camus films are about the impact of the past on the present, whether as memory or in more objectively historical terms. The best example of this in his filmography wasSombras de una batalla(Shadows of a Battle, 1993). With an impressive central performance byCarmen Maura, this is the drama of an ex-terrorist whose past catches up with her years later. Other films in this line of development areLos días del pasado(Days of the Past, 1978) andLa vieja música(Old Music, 1985).

Camus has also contributed scripts for other people's projects. He adapted Valle Inclán'sLuces de Bohemia(Lights of Bohemia, 1985) for Miguel Ángel Díez and co-wrote some ofPilarMiró's best films:Werther(1986),Beltenebros(Prince of Darkness, 1991), andEl pájaro de la felicidad(Bird of Happiness, 1993).