Spain in the year 1946. Twenty-five-year-old Julia leaves Madrid, grief-strick-en over the death of her lover, José, who has died in prison. Her partner was a talented painter and an outspoken opponent of the regime. Julia’s family is well-off and she was educated in England and in Switzerland. She drives her car towards Corrales de Somiedo, a small village in Asturias where the family estate, Lendelabarca, is located. The villa awakens pleasant memories for Julia of endless summers and a blissful childhood. The house and grounds are maintained by “Aunt” Gala, her daughter-in-law, Pilara and Juanito, Gala’s grandson. Juanito’s one big passion is the cinema. There is no cinema in their mountain village and so films are projected at Café España; the boy makes a note of every single film title.

Born in Madrid in 1944. As a young man he worked in a bank, writing film reviews in his spare time. He started writing screen-plays in 1968, making short films in 1975 and in 1977 he made his debut as a feature film director with Asignatur A Pendiente. He received an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film for Volvera Empezar in 1983. He has presented the weekly film magazine programme “ ¡ Qué grande es el cine!” on Spanish national television since 1995.

Spain headed to the Oscar ceremony last March as clear favourite for the foreign-language best picture award with Pedro Almodóvar's Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother). But the country finds longer odds this year with a film that couldn't be more different. Directed by 55-year-old José Luis Garci, winner of the 1992 statuette for Volver a empezar (To Begin With), You're The One is a sumptuously produced and defiantly old-fashioned period drama that takes place in 1946.