Hotel Danubio

 Hotel Danubio is a 2003 Spanish film directed by Antonio Giménez-Rico, classified under the crime genre (IMDb).

The movie is a remake of a 1955 film titled Los Peces Rojos (The Red Fish). This remake follows practically the same plot line as the first one, even respecting the setting; only the ending changes. This makes it possible for me to compare them. It is almost inevitable.

There may be the case of those who have seen the 1955 version first and then the 2003 version. It could be the reverse: those who first saw the 2003 version and then the 1955 one. And inevitably, there are those who haven't seen either.

In my particular case, I first watched the 1955 version and then the 2003 one. To those who haven't seen either of them, I recommend watching them in that order. To those who saw the 2003 version, I suggest allowing yourselves to watch the 1955 one.

In this film, compared to the previous one, there are various name changes. The events take place in 1955, this time "somewhere" along the Costa da Morte (Death Coast); it doesn't specify where, whereas in the previous film the events took place in Gijón. Both locations are in northern Spain.

This time, the hotel is named Hotel Danubio, which is precisely what gives the film its title. Personally, I find it misguided; someone unfamiliar might picture something related to the river of the same name (the Danube)—it happened to me—and it has nothing to do with it.

The opening of the film, compared to the previous one, lacks the establishing of place: the rain, the waves, the water, the sea, the storm... all of that is no longer there, barely a single wave crashing against the shore and nothing more.

The marine-themed paintings and pictures everywhere are barely noticeable in this remake, or they aren't there, or they aren't seen, or they aren't shown.

For someone who didn't see the first one, it might seem interesting, novel; but for someone who saw the original, this remake will hardly be more—or equally—appealing.

One positive aspect it has is the color. Although in the previous one, in black and white, set over fifty years ago, the absence of color gives it an old-fashioned, dated feel.

At the beginning, it isn't shown which theater it is; later it is, and you can see that it's the Savoy Theater.

Since everything takes place during the Francoist era, the reference becomes evident when an envelope with a stamp of the Generalísimo is clearly shown in a close-up.

Another change is the publishing house; this time it is "Editorial Júpiter S.A." I don't know if it actually exists or existed, especially back in the fifties.

In the review of the other movie, I wanted to mention a line, but I didn't know how to fit it in. Now I do, given that the phrase also changes: in the previous film, the female protagonist at one point says "soy barriobajera" ("I'm low-class/from the slums" — was that typical language of the fifties? I don't know), but in this remake she says "se la va a tragar" ("he's going to swallow it"), repeating it in reference to the key. I ask myself the same question: was that typical language of the fifties? I don't know, but in this latter case, it doesn't seem like it to me either.

Some of the changes give the feeling that they trim the film, always keeping the first one as a reference point. There are also absences, such as the editor's subplot, the part about what is published in the newspapers, some minor chats with secondary characters, and the police investigation. It feels as though the movie is shorter, but at the same time, the dialogue becomes slower. In this film, all situations are resolved more hastily; perhaps that is why some dialogues become slower.

One of the paintings in the main character's house depicts a bull with trees behind it; it is very similar or identical to the one in the previous movie, but this one appears to be enlarged or larger.

On several occasions it talks about the "delict" (crime), and all the elements of the "crime" are presented. It is legal and police terminology; however, in the previous movie, rather than linking it to something strictly legal-police related (which it effectively was), it linked it more directly to literature, fiction, and reality.

The ending is different, which I won't talk about, but it is another of the changes seen in the remake.

As for the songs, in this case, just like in the previous film, the director shows us excerpts from the Spanish musical revue theater (zarzuela/revista).

On a blog, with the link http://larevistamusical.blogspot.com.ar/2010/02/la-revista-musical-espanola-traves-del_21.html, I found something interesting that I copy verbatim:

"Hotel Danubio. Its importance lies solely and exclusively in showing us how a girl from the chorus of the great vedette 'Celia de Matos' (an obvious nod by the screenwriter to Celia Gámez and Virginia de Matos) finds herself entangled in a police investigation. Her rehearsals take place during the staging of Yola and La hechicera en palacio, specifically with the numbers '¡Mírame!' and 'Estudiantina portuguesa'."

A more than convincing and complete explanation, expressed in few words. The inclusion of the musical (which, by the way, is in the first film) struck me as fortunate, mostly because it seems to extend it a bit more and allows it to be enjoyed without cutting it off mid-development.

Links to the film's entry on IMDb and FilmAffinity:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382085/http://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film335415.html