La piel que habito 7 Nov 2012 Director: Pedro Almodovar Spain 2011 117 min An occasionally disturbing – but nonetheless stunning – film, The Skin I Live In revisits many themes familiar from earlier Almodovar works: identity, revenge, and overwhelmingly powerful emotions. Running throughout is the idea of dark secrets and revelation. Plastic surgeon Robert… Continue reading The Skin I Live In
Tag: Spain
Even The Rain
También la lluvia 5 Dec 2012 Director: Iciar Bollain Spain 2010 103 mins The exploitation of South American natives by Christopher Columbus is the starting point of this thoughtful and intelligent Spanish film-within-a-film-within-a-film. A film crew arrives in Bolivia to tell the story of the early Spanish colonists and their impact on the New World,… Continue reading Even The Rain
Sweet Sixteen
Jan 7 2004 UK, Germany, Spain 2002 106 min Director: Ken Loach Liam’s 16th birthday approaches and he looks forward to his mother’s release from prison. He lives in the dismal streets of Glasgow and in the company of his mother’s boyfriend, Stan and his mean-spirited grandfather. Hope looks bleak. He is determined to take… Continue reading Sweet Sixteen
The Others
3 Dec 2003 USA, France, Spain 2001 101 min Director: Alejandro Amenabar Nicole Kidman stars as Grace, a strong-willed woman who lives isolated with her two children in their Jersey Mansion towards the end of the Second World War. Grace, who awaits the return of her soldier husband, is highly protective of her two children,… Continue reading The Others
Bad Education
La mala educacion 5 Oct 2005 Director: Pedro Almodovar Spain 2004 106 min Celebrated Spanish director Pedro Almodovar’s latest film opened the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. It is a film noir set in Madrid and told over three time-frames. Hele, a 2 successful director, is approached by Ignatio who was once his close friend. Ignatio… Continue reading Bad Education
Only Human
Seres queridos 14 Dec 2005 Director: Dominic Harari & Teresa Pelegri Spain, Argentina, Portugal, UK 2004 89 min Jewish humour meets Spanish screwball comedy in this farce set in an eccentric family in Madrid. Leni is bringing her fiancé Rafi to meet her Jewish family. She has neglected to inform her mother that Rafi is… Continue reading Only Human
The Wind That Shakes The Barley
21 Mar 2007 Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Ireland, UK 2006 127 min Director: Ken Loach Ken Loach’s uncompromising adaptation of Paul Laverty‘s story of the struggle for Irish independence in 1920. Damien is a promising doctor but is troubled by the brutality of the Black and Tans and his deep love and sense of duty… Continue reading The Wind That Shakes The Barley
Familia Rodante
Rolling Family 6 Dec 2006 Director: Pablo Trapero Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, UK 2004 103 min Family chaos ensues when a wedding invitation inspires a grandmother to take her family to the wedding. Four generations of the family squeeze into a broken-down a mobile home and hit the road in this enchanting and upliftingly comic… Continue reading Familia Rodante
Volver
10 Oct 2007 Director: Pedro Almodovar Spain 2006 121 min Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) lives in Madrid with her daughter Paula. Her husband Paco is an unemployed labourer and drunkard. Her sister, Sole, works as a hairdresser and lives nearby. The sisters lost their mother, Irene, in a fire in their home village years ago. Their… Continue reading Volver
El Laberinto Del Fauno
Pan’s Labyrinth 6 Feb 2008 Director: Guillermo del Toro Mexico, Spain, USA 2006 119 min Enter Pan’s Labyrinth as Guillermo del Toro leads you into a gothic fairytale of breathtaking originality. Ofelia, a young and imaginative, girl lives in the Fascist Spain of 1944. She travels with her pregnant mother to meet her new stepfather,… Continue reading El Laberinto Del Fauno