The Captive

Cervantes historian José Manuel Lucía Megías served as historical consultant for the film. He stated that much of the facts depicted are unrealistic: there is no evidence whatsoever that Miguel de Cervantes and Hasán Bajah had a relationship, nor that the two ever met; Bajah also had wives at the time, and Cervantes would marry a woman just upon his return to Spain. Cervantes's homosexuality is likely a 19th-century invention; furthermore, 16th-century Islam, while tolerant of homosexuality, would not have permitted a relationship between two men of the same age, but only between a mature top and a young bottom. Megías nevertheless praised the movie, stating that director Alejandro Amenábar was well aware of these criticisms and took liberties for the sake of the plot.