Fernando Valverde Movies

This lively western from Spain centers on the exploits of a wealthy young troublemaker who escapes from a Franciscan monastery and teams up with a handsome country boy who has run away from the Army. Together the two try to become outlaws and pose as gang members under the notorious El Argentino, an outlaw who plies his trade upon the border of Portugal and Galicia in northern Spain. The two "bandidos" steal horses and rob a taxman as they flee for the border. Along the way another fellow joins them. Much to their surprise, the fellow turns out to be a female reporter for the New York Times, hoping to interview El Argentino. Unfortunately, the outlaws have never met him. They meet him soon enough when he captures them. Proving to be a vain but basically good-hearted outlaw, he spares them and together they all take off with the Civil Guard hot on their trail. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Antonio (Santiago Alonso) has been puzzled by a number of events which happened over a short period of time during a summer vacation outside of Madrid a decade earlier. They all concerned the family and household of a man he only knew as "the Nazi." With some persistence in pestering his family, a lot of memory work (seen as flashbacks in the film) and some plain old footwork, he pieces together the events of that time and finally comes to understand what really happened. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Ambiguous symbolism and minimalist storytelling imbue this pantomime-like film with some fine imagery. In the story, a medieval family group has traveled for quite some time when they arrive at a hut on the shores of a mysterious lake. Their arrival is accompanied with omens such as a swarm of drowning rats. They are attempting to protect the woman of the family from being ravished by the local feudal lord. Nothing is explained, and there is little dialog. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

After the death of Carlos II in 1700, the throne of Spain was up for grabs, and all the European powers got involved. Even after the next king was crowned, anarchy and poverty marred the lives of the Spanish for many years. Finally, Carlos III, attempted to bring significant reforms with the assistance of his minister, the Marques de Esquilache. This film, based on the play Un Sonador Para Un Pueblo by Antonio Buero Vallejo, portrays the struggles of Esquilache (Fernando Fernan Gomez) to implement his monarch's vision for Spain. Despite touching on many issues in Spanish history, it's really more of a character study of the title character. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this idiomatically Spanish comedy, set in the woodlands of Galicia in the 1920s, a large cast of oddballs and fools somehow manage to carry on with their lives (and deaths). One of these odd ducks is a bandit who cannot quite manage to pull off a robbery, though the travelers he meets are quite obliging. Another is a ghost who wishes he had traveled to America before dying. Even a funeral is a source of laughter, as two spinster sisters send the dead one off into the afterworld with countless messages and admonitions for their deceased relatives. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi