Knight and Day

It’s a high octane plot that doesn’t let reality or accuracy get in the way of telling its story. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, the stars of Knight and Day, are running for their lives across Europe and North America as a series of cops and criminals chase them and attempt to kill them for their troubles. Cruise plays a spy who is accused of being one of the bad guys while Diaz just happens to get in the way. As they dodge bullets from Boston to Spain they inevitably fall in love (I don’t think I’ve spoiled the plot there!).

From Bad to Worse

The making of Knight and Day was riddled with problems. Ten writers were involved at different points, with the plot changing out of all recognition by the time the movie was produced. The actors also weren’t the first choices of the casting team, with Eva Mendes and Chris Tucker initially lined up for the lead roles. Perhaps the financial backers wished they had stuck with their original choices given the poor box office performance of the movie when it finally came out.

Most movies have one or two mistakes or inaccuracies somewhere in the story, but Knight and Day has one of the most glaring errors in recent years. An important sequence in the movie takes place in a festival in Seville (in one of the scenes shot in Andalusia in southern Spain). Yet the movie shows the festival including the Running of the Bulls, a world-famous annual event that takes place not in Seville, but several hundred miles north in Pamplona as part of the festival of San Fermín. A minor detail, clearly….

Spanish Festivals

It’s a shame that they chose to “import” a festival to Andalusia for the movie, given the many well-known celebrations that really do take place in the region. Perhaps the most colorful is the Cadiz Carnival. Every year on Shrove Tuesday, Cadiz puts on a spectacular show to mark the last day before Lent, with floats, costumes and copious quantities of wine.

The festivities in Cadiz is counted by many among the world’s top pre-Lenten Carnivals, in a league with those in Rio de Janeiro, Trinidad, and New Orleans. Hotels in Cadiz book very quickly for the Carnival, so it’s wise to plan well in advance. If you’re in the mood to celebrate a real Spanish festival, this is one not to miss.

Photo |  DODO