ALCAINE, JOSÉ LUIS

(1938- )

José Luis Alcaine is one of the most versatile cinematographers in contemporary Spanish cinema, and in a career extending over four decades, he has pushed his range through close associations with filmmakers as varied asVicente Aranda,Fernando Trueba, andPedro Almodovar, in each case adapting himself not just to particular visual styles, but also to the needs of plot, mood, and character.

Alcaine was born in Tangiers, and he was an early lover of films. He ran the local film club as a young man and soon started working in film processing. He came to Spain in 1962, to study at the Official Film School (Escuela Oficial de Cine) while doing small jobs as a still photographer in some Nuevo Cine Español projects, such asBasilio MartínPatino's landmarkNueve cartas a Berta(Nine Letters to Berta, 1966). He trained as a cinematographer with directors likeJaime Chávarri(Losviajes escolares[School Trips], 1974) andJosé Luis Borau(Elpuente[The Holiday], 1977), before establishing a close working relationship with Vicente Aranda. One of his most successful contributions of the 1980s wasDemonios en el jardín(Demons in the Garden, 1984), directed byManuel Gutiérrez Aragón. Like Alcaine, Aragón likes to create specific, distinctive atmospheres to convey emotions, and his lighting in this film perfectly reflects the repressed feelings of the immediate post Civil War period.

Alcaine first received unanimous critical acclaim for his work inVíctorErice'sEl sur(South, 1983). His achievement for this film was indeed remarkable: he created evocative, contrasted lighting between the north that the characters inhabit and the south of their dreams.During that decade, he became Spain's most favored cinematographer. He reinvented Almodóvar's visual style, flooding a studio set with his brightest colors yet in the comedyMujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios(Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, 1988), and also challenging himself by going for the flat surfaces and floods of shadowless light in the style of American 1950s comedies, in sharp contrast with the three-dimensional atmospheres created for Aragón and Erice. In a similar vein, he contributed to the subtle mood of¡Átame!(Tie Me Up!Tie Me Down!, 1990) by suggesting a touch of fantasy with his brightly lit interiors. His work for Vicente Aranda throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including the distinctive color palettes forEl lute(1987) and documentary-like images ofLibertarias(Freedom Fighters, 1996) are also emblematic of his range. Other distinctive titles with Aranda includeIntruso(Intruder, 1991),La pasión turca(Turkish Passion, 1994), andCelos(Jealousy, 1999).

¡Ay Carmela!(1990) andEl pájaro de la felicidad(Bird of Happiness, 1993) are two exquisite examples of his work in the 1990s, for, respectively,Carlos SauraandPilar Miró. The latter, mostly set in a house by the sea, features a particularly beautiful use of Mediterranean light. He worked for Almodóvar again in creating flawless and colorful images forLa mala educación(Bad Education, 2004) andVolver(2006).

Also in the 1990s, he established a creative partnership withBigas Luna, working on the images for his "Iberian trilogy," as well asSon de mar(Sound of the Sea, 2001), which featured an approach to Mediterranean light radically different from the one deployed for Miró. Next in his series of close collaborations with key Spanish auteur-directors was Fernando Trueba. Alcaine won praise and a Goya award for his nostalgic, sun-drenched images inBelle Epoque(1992) and alsoTwo Much(1995). He did some work in Hollywood projects (Blast from the Past, Hugh Wilson, 1999), but it was in Spanish cinema that his work continued to be particularly original and creative. Other films of the last decade includeLa vida de nadie(Nobody's Life, 2002);Roma(Adolfo Aristarain, 2004);La vida perra de Juanita Narboni(Juanita Narboni's Wretched Life, Farida Belyazid, 2005), in which he photographed his native Tangiers, gorgeously bringing out all her moods and colors; and13 rosas(13 Roses, 2007), as well asTirante el blanco(2006), another Aranda collaboration.