Long time ago we promised you a post about spanish movies. Spain has marvelous movies to offer, performers and directors, that show us cool places all over Spain.
The list below comprehends just 5 of our favourite movies. Just a taste of what Spanish cinema can evoke: images of passion, colour, and a visual veracity in such great places all over Spain:
5) La comunidad
It’s one of the most delightfully black comedies we have ever seen. Directed by Álex De La Iglesia and mainly performed by Carmen Maura, it is a horror movie about ordinary people, our posible neighbours. Carmen plays a estate agent too used to lie, who discovers a suitcase of money in an appartment. She thinks this is what she has deserved her entire life, but she didn’t count on The Community of neighbours of the appartment building.
Where? It takes place in Madrid, in a classic building of the famous Gran Vía of Madrid. Great final scenes on the rooftops of Madrid.
What do we love about the film?. That the film is lovingly creepy, atonishing crazy and builds to real edge of the seat tension. We love it.
4) Mar adentro (The Sea Inside)
The movie from Alejandro Amenabar tells the real life story of Ramón Sampedro (amazingly performed by Javier Bardem), a paraplegic in Spain, who fought the courts for 30 years for his right to die. The movie explores the relationships dear to him. Including a female lawyer, who he hired to fight for his cause because she is suffering from a degenerative disease, and a woman from a nearby town who wanted to convince him that life is worth living.
Where? It takes place in Galicia (Northwest Spain), in a small rural town of A Coruña.
What do we love about the film? Mar Adentro is a very heavy film. It’s extremely powerful and personal. It is one of the greatest films in Spanish cinema. And we love the landscapes of the beautiful Land of ‘Las Rías‘. Also the movie won the 2004 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and 14 Goya Awards.
3) Abre los ojos (Open your Eyes)
Tom Cruise says that when he first saw Alejandro Amenábar’s “Open Your Eyes”, he was on his mobile phone trying to buy the rights to a remake even before the credits had stopped rolling. 4 years later Cruise produced and performed the main character of ‘Vanilla Sky’, the american version of the movie. Penelope Cruz, main female character of the spanish movie, also plays the nemesis roll in the american version.
Where? It takes place in Madrid, showing the nightlife-side of the capital, and also the most famous and breathtaking scene of the movie: La Gran Vía, main street of Madrid, totally empty.
What do we love about the film? That is one of the most thought-provoking thrillers of recent years, a film that really does challenge its audience’s expectations and suppositions at every turn.
2) Lucía y el Sexo (Sex and Lucia)
Although the movie lives up to its name and won’t disappoint audiences looking for erotic material, it is first and foremost a romantic film. And surprisingly beautiful too. A number of scenes are infused with a magical playfulness, providing the viewer with visions of white beaches shining brilliantly under a glaring sun, the director has fashioned a truly gorgeous work of art.
Where? Formentera. The smallest sister of the Balearic Islands. 6 kilometers away from the famous Ibiza. Breathtaking.
What do we love about the film? In words of the BBC review: An intoxicating experience.
1) Volver
Volver is a beautiful movie about family betrayals, emigration to the city and love. For us, Almodovar’s best work and Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winner.
Where? In Madrid and in a small village in La Mancha.
What do we love about the film? The most gorgeous images in ‘Volver’, white blossoms into crimson as a sheet of kitchen towel saturates with blood. An amazing Penélope Cruz in her best work ever. She even sings (well, not really but she can really do lip sync):
(the video seems to be russian-dubbed, but the singing is the original 😉 )
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Ive seen the top three in Blockbuster. Thanks for the recommendations.
Cool! Hope you like them! And what about ‘La comunidad’ and ‘Mar adentro’? You have to see them too ^^
Thanks for the recommendations, we’ve seen some but not all and are itching to do so now!
Ooh thank you for this! I will add some of the movies to my to-watch list. Others like Volver I saw before moving here. PS I loved Pan’s Labyrinth too. Best regards
Your Welcome! We hope you like ‘Abre los ojos’ or ‘Lucía y el Sexo’! And we also love Pan’s Labyrinth! In our next Top 5, we’ll try to include it! :P. Best!
Never watched any of these. so shall give them a go. I did enjoy Time Crimes though, that was a well rounded movie.