Andres Pajares Movies

In Ay, Carmela, filmmaker Carlos Saura again harks back to his bitter childhood memories of the Spanish Civil War. Carmela (Carmen Maura), Paulino (Andres Pajares) and Gustavete (Gabino Diego) are travelling entertainers, trouping through Spain to perform their act before the Republican troops. Early one morning, the three artistes find themselves in Franco-controlled territory. In mute terror, the captive entertainers witness the deaths of several innocents at the hands of the fascists. Then they are forced to do a show for their captors. Swallowing their pride and hiding their disgust, the entertainers agree to do so. But Carmela is unable to go through with this humiliation: before an assembly a Francoites, she defiantly sings a paean to the Loyalist cause...and in so doing, achieves martyrdom. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy, a manufacturer of turrón, a candy which resembles the honey-almond confection halvah, wants to promote it outside the regions of southern Spain where it is a traditional Christmas treat. It is particularly associated with a festival during which the wars between the Christians and the Moors are ritually reenacted. The manufacturer and his sons travel to a Madrid food festival to sell, sell, sell. The father also persuades his reluctant daughter, a woman with political ambitions, to use her connections to help promote their candy. With some difficulty, they garner a mention in a women's weekly magazine and on a television program. In a macabre comedy scene, having returned home, the manufacturer dies and is put in a coffin that is too small and is paraded down the street during the aforementioned festival in Alicante. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi