Rowing with the Wind

The atmosphere of Romanticism—led by Lord Byron and Mary Shelley, two of its most emblematic figures—brings us closer to the environment from which one of the most mythical literary creations of all time emerged: Frankenstein. The film’s literary rigor and its meticulously crafted visual composition, characteristic of historical cinema, make this work—performed by a British and Spanish cast at the height of their powers—an essential classic in Gonzalo Suárez’s filmography and in European cinema. Synopsis. Two English poets, Mary Shelley and Lord Byron, are forced to flee England. During the journey, Mary recalls how she met the young and passionate poet Shelley at her adoptive father’s house, how she fell in love with him, and how she eloped with him. She also remembers a meeting with Byron in Switzerland. But above all, she recalls a night in November 1816 during which, while her friends told ghost stories, she gave birth to the legendary monster of Frankenstein. [Spanish Film Academy]