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"Sex and politics collide in this harrowing, hard-hitting tale of homosexual love, blackmail and murder."

Inspired by true events, El Diputado was the first openly gay film to be released in post-Franco Spain.

If you have never heard of Eloy de la Iglesia, that's not his fault. The Spanish director gained something of a cult reputation for his explicit treatment of homosexuality. Mr. de la Iglesia once belonged to the Spanish Communist Party, and ''El Diputado'' (''The Deputy'') brings together his political and sexual predilections in a passionate mix.
The film was his first to find commercial release in the U.S., and attests to both Mr. de la Iglesia's craft and his spirit.

In the film, which is almost completely told in "flashbacks," Roberto Orbea (Jose M. Sacristan) reminisces about his recent life. Despite many years of hiding his political beliefs, he is imprisoned and realizes while in prison that despite his attempts to repress his true self he is indeed homosexual.

A former lawyer and an idealistic left-winger he emerges from the Franco era as a leading Spanish socialist politician.

He tries to avoid expressing his homosexuality, and marries a beautiful woman (Maria Luisa San Jose) who shares his political beliefs, but Roberto can't resist young boys. His affair with a pretty teen-ager named Juanito (Jose L. Alonso) puts him at the mercy of a merciless bunch of right-wingers.

In drawing connections between Roberto's underground political existence and his underground sexual existence, Mr. de la Iglesia, who wrote the screenplay with Gonzalo Goicoechea, is onto something. The apartment that was once used to harbor endangered comrades becomes a place for trysts; the posters of Marx and Lenin look sternly upon the male sex play.

Mr. de la Iglesia is quite brilliant at making us feel the appeal of young boys to the middle-aged, sober-minded Roberto. By contrast, the relationship between Roberto and his beautiful wife Carmen is tenuous despite his honesty with her about his homosexuality. Their relationship is anchored in genuine love for each other and Carmen is determined to explore any avenue that will allow their marriage and relationship to survive. Under the tutelage of Roberto and Carmen, Juanito is transformed from a street hustler into a bookstore browser, an admirer of modern art and an appreciator of good music and he has his political consciousness raised, to boot. He realizes that he is indeed in love with Roberto and strives to undo his original commitment to discredit him. A climactic scene finds Roberto, Juanito and Carmen in a turn-on a tres that culminates in a three-way kiss symbolizing a sign of liberation and reconciliation.

Featuring an appearance of the renowned director Juan Antonio Bardem, this film raised an outcry at the time of its first release for its explicit depiction of homosexual acts and for its outspokenly pro-Marxist political statements. The film also gained notoriety because it appears to tell the story of several well-known figures in Spanish society.

During the early '70s, de la Iglesia was a member of the Spanish Communist Party; his films of this period reflected his beliefs and often centered on violent forms of social protest. Favorite topics included class relations and social oppression by the state. Many of de la Iglesia's films contained prodigious amounts of bizarre sex, which generated even more controversy. After the mid-'70s, de la Iglesia's films increasingly focused on homosexuality and social problems such as juvenile delinquency and drug addiction. De la Iglesia contended with drug addiction himself in the 1980s and even stopped making films for a time. Claiming his addiction to cinema was stronger than his addiction to drugs, de la Iglesia eventually kicked his habit and resumed his career.

Film Information:'The Deputy (El Diputado)'
Web: Cast, Bios and Additional Details at IMDb
Director: Eloy de la Iglesia
Writers: Gonzalo Goicoechea & Eloy de la Iglesia
Credits: Full Cast, Crew & Credits
Genre: Drama
Awards: 1 win
Runtime: 110 min
Spoken Language: Spanish
Subtitled in: English

Film Clip:'The Deputy (El Diputado)'
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