Candela Peña Movies

A middle-class prostitute strikes up an unlikely friendship with an immigrant streetwalker from the Dominican Republic in director Fernando León de Aranoa's compassionate, humanistic drama. Caye comes from a middle-class background, and her parents remain blissfully unaware of the means by which their daughter earns her keep. While many of Caye's days are spent hanging out with her fellow prostitutes cursing the rapid proliferation of cheaper immigrant prostitutes on the city streets, a chance encounter with Zule, who is just such a woman, soon prompts Caye to reevaluate her standards. A dedicated mother who walks the streets in order to send money to her son back home, Zule is taken to the hospital by Caye after being badly beaten and left for dead. Now, as a warm bond begins to develop between the two women whose dreams of financial stability and kind companionship help to ease the pain of familial separation, the resulting discovery of self-determination leads Caye and Zule on a journey of self-discovery that will leave both women forever changed. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The sexual revolution meets a bumbling door-to-door salesman and his beautician wife in the form of "educational" sex films in this satiric comedy, set in Spain in 1973. Alfredo Lopez (Javier Cámara) is an encyclopedia salesman whose work has not been going especially well lately, which is worrisome to his wife, Carmen (Candela Peña), who is eager to have a baby. As it happens, encyclopedia sales have been dismal overall, and publisher Don Carlos (Juan Diego) strikes upon an idea for a more lucrative product line -- an "audiovisual encyclopedia of human reproduction," consisting of 8 mm movies demonstrating different ways for couples to make love. Don Carlos sets up a meeting between his sales staff and Dennis (Thomas Bo Larsen), a pornographer from Denmark who likes to tell people he once worked with Ingmar Bergman. While most of the salesmen refuse to have anything to do with Don Carlos' new scheme -- especially since pornography is strictly illegal under the Franco regime -- Alfredo grudgingly goes along, and despite initial misgivings Carmen is drafted to star in the first film in the series. As the films become an underground success in Spain and earn a more high-profile reputation in Denmark, Carmen is recognized in public as a glamorous porn star, and Alfredo deludes himself into believing he and Dennis are making art films. But Alfredo's ambitions get the better of him when he begins writing a screenplay for a serious feature film and Carmen becomes increasingly obsessed with having a child. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this farce, noted Spanish director Joaquin Oristrell sets his sights on a raving sexist and the aftermath of his misdeeds. Ex-athlete and restaurateur Arturo splits his time between training his slow-witted son Arturito in the finer points of speed walking and having an affair with his attractive young cook, Cristal, whom he promises to marry. Of course, the latter activity is hardly popular with his beleaguered wife Paz, who seeks comfort with Cristal's father. When Cristal discovers Arturo and Paz having sex in the kitchen, she plots her revenge by attempting to seduce Arturo's son, until she finds herself falling for the naïve boy. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Two young women leave their old-fashioned Spanish villages in search of wealth and adventure in this gentle drama. Both La Nina and Trini are in their early 20s. After spending time working in a resort filled with aged touristas the two end up in Madrid meeting with Marilo, La Nina's mother. Marilo and her daughter do not get along well, but the mother and Trini become fast friends. Marilo dreams of running a bar along the beach and together with La Nina, Trini, and her lover little Pepe, they all head off to the beach. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Actor Jordi Mollà made his directorial debut with this satiric drama, which casts a jaundiced eye on the world of television. Salva (Mollà) and his best friend, Angel (Juan Carlos Vellido), are a pair of homeless men who scrape together a living begging in a train station. After the men are implicated in the killing of a priest, Salva and Angel are put behind bars, where they are spotted by the producer of "Harsh Treatment," a reality television show in which the viewing audience is asked to judge if the contestants are innocent or guilty of the crimes of which they are accused. With his long hair and kind eyes, Salva looks a bit like Jesus, and Bigardo (Daniel Giménez Cacho), the creator of the show, decided to play the resemblance for all it's worth; the home audience not only acquits Salva, but he's given a new job as a TV preacher. Disillusioned, Angel goes back to the gutter, while Salva, who is uncertainly navigating the ladder of success, becomes deeply infatuated with Espe (Candela Peña), Bigardo's significant other. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This is a film of the dramatic Spanish language novel Celestina, written in 1499. In many ways, it resembles Romeo and Juliet, particularly in the need for secrecy in the wooing of a beloved and the troubles resulting from that secrecy. Callisto (Juan Diego Botto) enlists the aid of his roguish servants and the mature woman Celestina (Terele Pavez) to help him win the heart of Melibea (Penelope Cruz). In gratitude for Celestina's efforts, he rewards her with a sentimentally valuable article of clothing. When Callisto's two jealous servants hear of this, they try to get Celestina to give them what they feel is their "share" for their efforts on Callisto's behalf. Failing in this, they kill Celestina. Her friends discover her corpse and vow to get revenge for her murder, but it is Callisto whom they blame for it, not his miserable servants. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this Spanish comedy-drama, yuppie Eva (Christina Marcos), employed in TV production, is kept awake by her baby. Real estate salesman Juan (Ernesto Alterio) is due to marry Isabel (Maria Pujalte), a compulsive shopper. Dropped by her boyfriend, Alba (Candela Pena) turns to alcohol and sex. The plot threads become interlinked as Eva befriends Juan and also hires Alba as a babysitter. Nerves grow taut as the wedding day approaches for Juan and Isabel. Not to be confused with several other works carrying this same title -- the 1994 German comedy; Stephen King's 1994 novel; the 1996 Steve Marshall movie with Monica Ford; or the 1997 Norwegian psychological thriller with Stellan Skarsgard. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi