Confessions of a Congressman

media release: Spain | 1978 | DCP | 107 min. | Spanish with English subtitles

Director: Eloy de la Iglesia

Cast: José Sacristán, María Luisa San José, José Luis Alonso

Roberto Orbea (Sacristán), is a prominent leftist politician whose secret relationships with exploited street youths make him vulnerable to blackmail by Francoist authorities eager to crush the opposition. When the regime plants the seemingly innocent Juanito to entrap him, the young man instead becomes emotionally entangled with both Roberto and his wife Carmen. Released just two years after the death of Francisco Franco, this unconventional, suspenseful, and sometimes marvelously lurid drama exposes the hypocrisy and coercive tactics of the dictatorship while honestly depicting the double life of its closeted protagonist.

Admission free for all screenings, seating limited. No admission 15 minutes after scheduled start times. Please visit our website for a complete listing of programs and descriptions.

This year’s series of programs co-presented by Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies at UW-Madison puts the spotlight on all LACIS regions with local premieres of new features and several recent restorations. The series includes the first Madison showings of Sirāt (Spain) and A Poet (Colombia), plus repertory screenings of Mario Soffici’s Prisoneros de la Tierra (Argentina), Eloy de la Iglesia’s Confessions of a Congressman (Spain), Guillermo del Toro’s horror fable Cronos (Mexico), Euzhan Palcy’s Sugar Cane Alley (Martinique), and the Hollywood Technicolor production of Mark of the Renegade, starring Ricardo Montalban and directed by Argentine emigre Hugo Fregonese. The series is presented with the generous support of Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies (LACIS) at UW-Madison. Special Thanks to Adrianna Angel, Sarah Ripp, Sarah McKinnon.