What is 'The Captive', Alejandro Amenábar's film about Cervantes, like?

The Captive , the film written and directed by Spaniard Alejandro Amenábar about the experiences of a young captive Miguel de Cervantes , has brought forward its Spanish release to September 12, according to Disney, the film's distributor.

"Getting inside the head and heart of one of literature's greatest talents has ended up becoming the most intense and personal task of my career," the director and screenwriter states in the statement. He hopes people know Cervantes (1547-1616) as much as he believes he knows him now.

In February, it was announced that October 17 was the expected release date for this Spanish-Italian co-production, which also includes collaboration with Netflix, RTVE, and RAI Cinema , and funding from the Spanish and Italian Ministries of Culture.

The author of Don Quixote is played by the Spaniard Julio Peña ( Berlin, Through My Window ).

With a cast that includes Alessandro Borghi ( Las Ocho Montanas ), Miguel Rellán, Fernando Tejero, José Manuel Poga, Roberto Álamo and debutant Luna Berroa, among others, filming took place in Spain.

"The author of Don Quixote left an incredible story to tell. His own," says the film's poster, which shows Peña with one hand hidden in his jacket, since when he was captured on the high seas by Arab corsairs and taken to Algiers as a hostage , he had already been left one-handed in the Battle of Lepanto.

Amenábar writes that "in 1575 the doors of freedom closed for Miguel de Cervantes , but in exchange the doors of his imagination and humanity opened."

"While devising risky plans to escape from a bleak Arab prison , the young soldier was forced to learn about the world of his captors and interact with them on enemy soil," he added.

It was among his fellow prisoners, he says, where he "found his calling as an unparalleled storyteller," says the director of Tesis and Los otros .

Amenábar (Santiago de Chile, 1972) wants to take the viewer on " a journey back in time to see themselves there , among corsairs, captives, renegades, friends and enemies... watching and listening to that fascinating man who didn't even know yet that he was a genius."

The Spanish director won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2005 for The Sea Inside and has won several Goya Awards for Spanish cinema and other accolades at festivals such as Venice.