Secret of the Andes (film)

1998 Argentine film

Secret of the Andes

Directed by| Alejandro Azzano
Written by| Alejandro Azzano
Bernardo Nante
Starring| Roshan Seth
Camilla Belle
David Keith
Nancy Allen
John Rhys-Davies
Jerry Stiller
Cinematography| Máximo Munzi
Edited by| Miguel Pérez
Music by| Luis Enrique Bacalov

Production
companies

Semana Mágica S.A.
Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales (INCAA)

Distributed by| Distribution Company (1999, Argentina)
MTI Home Video (VHS, United States)

Release date

* November 14, 1998 (1998-11-14)

Running time

| 101 minutes
95 minutes
Countries| Argentina
United States
Languages| English
Spanish

Secret of the Andes (El secreto de los Andes) is a 1998 Argentine-American fantasy adventure film co-written and directed by Alejandro Azzano. It stars Roshan Seth as a powerful shaman, Camilla Belle as a nine-year old young girl with unusual gifts, David Keith as her archaeologist father, Nancy Allen as her mother and John Rhys-Davies as a Catholic priest.[1]

## Synopsis

[edit]

When Diana's behavior causes her to be suspended from her school in New York City, her mother takes her to join her father, an archaeologist working in a village in the Andes. He is looking for the missing half of the golden disc of Huáscar, which legend says can grant eternal life. Diana meets the local shaman and discovers her own mystical powers.

## Cast

[edit]

* Camilla Belle ... Diana Willings
* David Keith ... Brooks Willings
* Nancy Allen ... Brenda Willings
* Roshan Seth ... Don Benito
* John Rhys-Davies ... Father Claver
* Jerry Stiller ... Dr. Goldfisch
* José Luis Alfonzo ... Lázaro
* Gianni Lunadei
* Rodrigo Barrena ... Sancho Benito
* Betiana Blum ... Mama Lola
* Leandro López ... Lucho Benito

## Critical response

[edit]

The critical reception was mostly negative in the Argentine press. Adolfo C. Martínez wrote in La Nación, that the "script is so lacking in imagination that it does not withstand the slightest analysis. If those responsible thought that this story contained fascination, magic and suspense, they mistook their purposes. If they conceived it for children, they missed their target, since that audience will undoubtedly achieve an invitation to yawn. If it was thought for the elderly, no one in adulthood can bow to the absurdity that is told on the screen".[2] Juan Villegas, from the El Amante del Cine magazine wrote that "there was an exciting story to be told, but they forgot to shoot it".[3]

## Accolades

[edit]

Secret of the Andes won a silver Remi in the 2000 edition of the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.[4] The movie was also nominated to best film in the 1998 edition of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival.[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Secret of the Andes at the Internet Movie Database
2. ^ Redacción LA NACION (1999-07-15). "Un secreto que interesa poco". La Nación (in Spanish). ISSN 0325-0946. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
3. ^ Manrupe, Raúl; Portela, María Alejandra (2003). Un diccionario de films argentinos II 1996-2002 (in Spanish). Corregidor. p. 220\. ISBN 950-05-1525-3.
4. ^ "Contest News: WorldFest Houston Wraps Up Festival". MovieBytes.com - Screenwriting Contests & Markets Online. 17 April 2000. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
5. ^ Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata. "36º Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata". www.mardelplatafilmfest.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-11-22.

## External links

[edit]

* Secret of the Andes at IMDb
* Secret of the Andes at Rotten Tomatoes

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