Spanish film director and producer, born in Zaragoza. He studied law in his hometown and debuted as a film critic in the newspaper El Heraldo de Aragón. In Madrid, he joined the Instituto de Investigaciones y Experiencias Cinematográficas. He exerted great influence on the medium from his teaching at the Escuela Oficial de Cinematografía. In 1967 he founded the production company El Imán, Cine y Televisión, with which he has financed his own projects and those of other filmmakers. Of his personal work, two films stand out: Furtivos (1975), Golden Shell at the San Sebastian Festival and a great success for its opposition to the limits of censorship at the beginning of the Spanish Transition, and Leo (2000), which won the Goya for best director. However, both his initial commissions, such as the spaghetti western Brandy (1964) and the crime film Crimen de doble filo (1965), and the controversial later films Tata mía (1986) and Niño Nadie (1996), have had little repercussion. Between 1994 and 1998 he was president of the Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España (Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). In 2001 he was elected full member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando and in 2002 he was awarded the Premio Nacional de Cinematografía.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 8, 1929
- November 23, 2012 (aged 83)
- Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain
- Writer, actor, director and producer
- 5 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
What are José Luis Borau's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Power.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 1 · Earnest 2
Light 0 · Serious 2 · Dark 2
A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1
A split, not a type: Gentle 1 · Charged 1 · Intense 2
A split, not a type: Steady 1 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 2
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1
A split, not a type: Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 1
Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
A split, not a type: Resolved 2 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch José Luis Borau's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for José Luis Borau's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
27 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
My Dearest Señorita(2026)
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Arrebatados: recordando a Iván Zulueta (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Anna's Summer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Leo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Niño nadie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Todos a la cárcel(1993)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
Celia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Misadventure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Tata Mía (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
On the Line(1984)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Cuentos para una escapada (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
La Sabina (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Somnambulists (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Black Litter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
In memoriam(1977)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
El monosabio (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
La adúltera (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Poachers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
B. Must Die (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
My Dearest Senorita (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Estado de sitio (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Un, dos, tres, al escondite inglés (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Snakes and Ladders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Double Edged Crime (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Ride and Kill (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
En el río (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Career shape
A full career of 27 titles from 1960 to 2026.
Film career
- 1972Screen debut· My Dearest Senorita
How do José Luis Borau's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 59th percentile, the median of all 5; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 48th percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 5 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the plot and story 50/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 61, detractors 28. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does José Luis Borau work with?
People who share at least 2 of José Luis Borau's MovieCove titles; Teo Escamilla shares the most, 2.
- Teo EscamillaShared titles: On the Line (1984), In memoriam (1977)See all 2 shared titles with Teo Escamilla
