The House of the Spirits

The House of the Spirits follows the Trueba family across generations in Chile, beginning in the 1920s. Esteban Trueba rises from poverty to become a wealthy landowner and later a conservative senator, while his wife Clara possesses strange powers and the gift of foresight. His sister Ferula and his daughter Blanca are among the women drawn into the family's conflicts. As Esteban becomes involved in politics, his family fractures, and the political upheaval that leads to the military coup of 1973 leaves him feeling betrayed by the ideals he once supported.

Bille August directed and wrote the screenplay, adapting Isabel Allende's novel. Released in 1993, it was the second of the fifteen films he has directed, following Pelle the Conqueror and preceding Smilla's Sense of Snow. The cast includes Meryl Streep as Clara, Glenn Close as Ferula, Jeremy Irons as Esteban, Winona Ryder as Blanca, Antonio Banderas as Pedro Tercero Garcia and Armin Mueller-Stahl as Severo del Valle, with 46 credited cast members and 43 credited crew.

Produced by Bernd Eichinger across companies in Germany, Denmark, Portugal and the United States, the film had a budget of 25 million USD and earned 6 million USD worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.9 out of 10 from 24,504 votes, and on TMDB a rating of 6.9 out of 10 from 753 votes. The film critics' rating stands at 4.7 out of 10 from 39 reviews.