Alessandro Borghi as a tyrant in the film ‘The Prisoner’

ROME – Alejandro Amenábar returns to the set with ‘The Prisoner’ a film that tells the adventures of the young Miguel de Cervantes, played by Julio Peña (‘La Casa de Papel: Berlin’) imprisoned in the pirate city of Algiers under the control of the tyrant Hasán, played by Alessandro Borghi. THE PRISONER, THE SET In recent weeks, filming […]

ROME – Alejandro Amenábar returns to the set with ‘The Prisoner’ a film that tells the adventures of the young Miguel de Cervantes, played by Julio Peña strong>(‘La Casa de Papel: Berlin’) imprisoned in the pirate city of Algiers under the control of the tyrant Hasán, played by Alessandro Borghi.

THE PRISONER, THE SET

In recent weeks, filming began in Santa Pola. In May the set will move to the Santa Barbara Castle in Alicante, and to the Ciudad de la Luz studios, to continue in various locations in the province of Valencia and to conclude in mid-June in the Real Alcazar of Seville.

THE PRISONER, THE SYNOPSIS

Year 1575. The young Miguel de Cervantes, wounded in a naval clash, during his return to Spain, is captured in the open sea by Algerian corsairs. Aware that a cruel death awaits him in Algiers if his ransom is not paid soon, Miguel finds refuge in his passion for telling stories. His fascinating stories also give hope to his fellow prisoners and attract the attention of Hasán, the mysterious and feared governor of Algiers, with whom he begins to develop a strange affinity. As conflicts grow among his desperate companions, Miguel, guided by his unwavering optimism, begins to plan a daring escape plan.

“In this film, as in the previous ones, I will play with contrasts: from the dark reality in which Miguel de Cervantes lived to the power of his stories, his epic escape attempts, the harsh conditions of imprisonment, the cruelty of his jailers, the paradise and the lush exuberance of the hamam, or the cheerfulness of the streets of Algiers. Miguel de Cervantes experienced all of this, and it is exactly what shaped the humanism and complexity of his work of his stories in Don Quixote, entitled The Prisoner, contains numerous autobiographical references. Miguel de Cervantes left a great story untold: his. It’s time to know it”, comments director and author Alejandro Amenábar.

Known best for his masterpiece Don Quixote de la Mancha, (translated into more than 140 languages and considered the first truly modern novel) Miguel de Cervantes’ eventful life allowed him to have a profound understanding of human nature, which he then he reflected in his writings with humor, wit and depth. Cervantes’ work has left an indelible mark on world literature and his legacy continues to live on.