If They Tell You I Fell

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If They Tell You I Fell (Si te dicen que caí) is a 1989 Spanish drama directed by Vicente Aranda, based on the novel by Juan Marsé. It stars Victoria Abril, Jorge Sanz, Antonio Banderas and Javier Gurruchaga. The film is set in Barcelona after the Civil War and follows a young rag-and-bone man named Java who falls in love with a pregnant prostitute named Ramona. Ramona once worked for a cruel man, Don Conrado, and Java’s life becomes tied to a web of memory, danger, and desire.

Told in a puzzle-like way, the story mixes past and present through the tradition of inventing “aventis”—tales told by children that blend real events with what they imagine. The main tale unfolds through flashbacks to 1970, 1940, 1936, and the mid-1980s. In 1940s Barcelona, Java struggles to survive while dealing with Conrado and the people around him. His older brother Marcos is an anarchist, and Ramona’s past links her to Marcos and to Aurora Nin, a name that appears in the stories the children tell. A religious amateur play and Java’s wish to be an actor also drive the plot.

In 1936, during the war, Marcos fights for the Republic and seeks to avenge Conrado’s brutality toward Aurora Nin. The violence of the era touches many lives, including Java’s, as he becomes entangled with wealthy but cruel circles and with people trying to escape poverty. In the later years, the memories of Ramona and Aurora Nin surface, and Java’s story is revealed to be part of a larger drama that spans decades.

The film was shot in Barcelona and had a budget of about 168 million pesetas. Victoria Abril plays multiple roles in the film, including Ramona and Aurora Nin, and she was six months pregnant during some explicit scenes. Jorge Sanz and Antonio Banderas also appear in supporting roles. If They Tell You I Fell marked the first of three collaborations between Abril and Aranda.

It premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 1989 and opened in Spain on September 19, 1989. It received mixed reactions from critics and audiences; Sanz won the Goya Award for Best Actor for his performance. The movie had a limited release in the United States. It has been released on DVD in North America (2005) and in Catalan/Spanish (2006) under the title Aventis.