This is a delightful and entertaining film about two script-writers sent to a monastery by their producer to complete their script without distractions. But as they work on their film for a Sean Connery melodrama set in nineteenth-century Scotland, their own lives follow the plot they are inventing. The script is engaging and very witty (I do not normally burst out laughing when watching a film on television), the cinematography is impressive, the music based on variations of the Mexican popular song "La llorona" is both suggestive and meaningful. I would appreciate reading reactions to this film from viewers who know little of Spanish cinema, unable to recognise the endearing monks trying to save their monastery by exploiting the tourist industry, or who know nothing of Luis Buñuel and his working relationship with Jean-Claude Carrière and his casting of Fernando Rey since "Viridiana" in 1961, especially his last Cet Obscur Objet du désir -by coincidence this film was Fernando Rey's last film as well. All these references turn the script and story into a real jewel and a brilliant homage to both Spanish popular comedies and to Luis Buñuel. The acting is also superb in its understatement of extravagant characters. P.S. The locations in Aragón are as beautiful as those of the proposed Scotland (I should know, my heart is Scottish).
Reviews
4 Reviews
Valentina
(1982)
for the ending
27 July 2006
You should know that this film is the first part of two films: "Valentina" and "1919 -Cronica del alba" (released the following year in 1983), based on Ramon J Sender's novel "Cronica del alba" written in exile. Both films begin with the end of the novel (so I am not spoiling anything) the context is 1939 when Spanish Republican refugees crossed the French border, many to be sent to the concentration camps on the beaches. The protagonist of the story dies there, the author of the book survived, and both entertained through their narratives. The first film recalls Pepe's memories: his childhood pranks, his respect for his mentor, and his crush for Valentina in 1911. The second film is set eight years later, 1919, and shows the birth of a Republican conscience, taking us up to 1936-39.
The mature Werewolf
28 February 2005
For the prudish viewer, this is the distilled and mature Waldemar Daninsky who returns at 66, now a mature and successful novelist, still very much tormented by the curse of the Werewolf. Through fevers, nightmares, and murders, he seeks redemption and release from his curse looking for the platonic lady who might be able to help him. It moves away from the Gothic horror and is more explicitly metaphorical than other films of this tormented character, suggesting in initial sequence that the monster and the achiest are the products of repressive and intolerant Fascist/Nazi regimes or austere and patriarchal religious values. Underlining the plot there is a plea for tolerance and condemnation of discrimination on the basis of gender or race. Whether familiar or new to the Waldemar Daninsky there will be surprises, and the consequence of limited budget production is still endearing. I only managed to watch the film on a DVD dubbed into Spanish.
Todo está oscuro
(1997)
miss it and you lose
25 February 2005
This is not a Whodunit but a Whatodowithit. As a thriller I found the contrasts between the reactions of the hard men (!) and the strong women very interesting, and wonder if another director would have thought to develop the relationships as presented in this film. It also sets up many different contrasting perspectives: Columbia and Spain (which are linguistically very interesting); the indigent and the wealthy (reflected in the locations), and those who want to move out of their trap. The music is perhaps a little too obvious in manipulating the spectators'reactions, but there are some good musical moments. It will not, however, please the Columbian Tourist Board. I did enjoy the film.
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