Eloy Azorín Movies
The story of Spain's most infamous family is brought to the screen with surprising subtlety in this historical drama. Near the end of the 15th century, the Borgias are one of the most wealthy families in Europe, with their numbers divided between Spain and Italy, and when Rodrigo Borgia (Lluis Homar) is elected as Pope, his three sons -- Cesar (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), Juan (Sergio Muniz), and Jofre (Eloy Azorin) -- find themselves raised to positions of power as their father arranges politically advantageous marriages for them. Rodrigo's daughter Lucrecia (Maria Valverde) is also used as a bargaining chip when he persuades her to wed Giovanni Sforza, the favored son of a family often in opposition to the Borgias. While Rodrigo benefits from these alliances, his children do not -- Cesar's dreams of serving in the military are dashed when he is made to join his father in the church, Juan's time in the Army is full of unhappy consequences, Jofre's marriage to Sancha of Aragon (Linda Batista) is not fated to be a happy one, and murder stains the lives of most of the family. Originally shot as a mini-series for television, The Borgias (aka Los Borgia) was reedited for theatrical release in Spain, where it became a success at the box office. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lluís Homar, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, (more)
Daniel Calparsoro's Guerreros is set in the Balkans in the wake of the ethnic conflict between the Serbs and the Kosovo Albanians that prompted NATO military intervention in 1999. A group of young Spanish army engineers is stationed in a Kosovo village to help the Albanians recover from the war's devastation. The unit is sent on a mission to restore electricity to a small town in hostile territory, but their operation is derailed when they get caught up in the fighting between Serb and Albanian paramilitaries. Struggling to stay neutral, the peacekeepers find themselves fighting for survival as they scamper around the Balkan countryside searching for a way back to headquarters. Their descent into the quagmire of ethnic fighting tests the limits of their idealism and underscores the moral complexities posed by humanitarian intervention. This polished actioner screened at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Elbert Ventura, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eloy Azorín, Eduardo Noriega, (more)
This lavish historical drama was inspired by the true story of Juana the Mad, who became Queen of Spain before her willfulness and jealousy robbed her of her power. During the late 15th century, Juana (Pilar Lopez de Ayala) was born to the Spanish royal family, and as a teenager her mother, Queen Isabella (Susy Sanchez), arranged for her to marry Archduke Philip (Daniele Liotti) of Brussels. The marriage is a matter of politics more than anything else, and Juana is upset that she must leave behind Alvaro de Estuniga (Eloy Azorin), the boy she loves, but from the first time she sees Felipe, she's passionately attracted to him, and he soon awakens her to the joys of lovemaking. While Juana is happy with her new husband, Philip soon reveals himself to be an incorrigible womanizer (and rapidly loses sexual interest in her), leading to much tension between
Philip and Juana. To complicate matters further, her sexual appetite and desire to possess her husband only build, and soon, she is completely out of control on an emotional level - throwing tantrums in the rain, lapsing into arousal while she breast feeds and evincing a spectrum of equally questionable behavior that leads others (including Philip) to dub her "Juana the Mad."In time, Juana becomes the Queen of Spain, but her rise to power is tempered by Felipe' s behind-the-scenes machinations to have her dethroned once and for all. Lo and behold, she falls into the trap of missing this - as she's too distracted by Philip's continued infidelity. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pilar López de Ayala, Daniele Liotti, (more)
- 2000
Two adults look back to their youth and discover how a seemingly minor incident shaped their lives in this drama from Spain. Lucia (Silvia Munt) is a woman in her early forties who moves back to the neighborhood where she grew up, taking over a house her grandparents once owned. To her surprise, she discovers that Juan (Gary Piquer), whom she knew as a teenager, is living across the street in the home where his grandparents once lived, and seeing one another brings back memories of their youth. In 1974, young Juan (Andres Gertudix) and Lucia (Cristina Brondo) are growing up in Madrid as Franco's regime is coming to a close. Juan, from a poor family, is infatuated with Lucia, and when he helps nurse an injured dog back to health, she starts to take an interest in him, though she already has a boyfriend, the wealthy Nacho (Eloy Azorin). Juan asks Lucia to attend a concert with him by Catalan vocalist Joan Manuel Serrat, but on the day of the show, Juan is forced to work late at his job; when he finally arrives at the concert hall, he discovers Lucia has already left to spend the evening with Nacho. Twenty-five years later, Lucia and Juan are both lonely and emotionally isolated, and they wonder how much impact this event had on their later relationships. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Silvia Munt, Gary Piquer, (more)
This coming-of-age drama is set in Cadiz, a town in Southern Spain, in 1965, as the nation was entering its final decade of Fascist rule. Ramon (Eloy Azorin), Nicolas (Inaki Font), and Alfonso (Roberto Hoyas) are three friends whose parents have sent them to Cadiz so that they can study without distraction for their medical school entrance exams. But distraction finds them in the form of four young women from a ragtag local dance troupe, Marian (Chusa Barbero), Vicky (Emma Suarez), Perla (Beatriz Bergamin), and Chon (Ana Malaver). The girls supplement their meager wages as dancers by turning tricks on the side, but they soon become quite friendly with the fresh-faced boys from the North, and tart-tongued Vicki becomes involved with Ramon, the most innocent and sheltered of the three, much to the amazement of Nicolas and Alfonso. Soon Vicky gives Ramon a crash course in the mysteries of women, but Ramon finds out the hard way that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing; Vicky announces she's pregnant, and Ramon isn't sure about what to do, especially since he has a girlfriend at home -- the tense and high-strung Rocio (Pilar Lopez de Ayala). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Emma Suarez, Eloy Azorín, (more)
Pedro Almodóvar directed this story of a woman and her circle of friends who find themselves suffering a variety of emotional crises. Manuela (Cecilia Roth) is a single mother who has raised her son, Esteban (Eloy Azorín), to adulthood on her own and has come to emotionally depend on him. One night, Manuela and Esteban take in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire; after the show, Esteban is struck and killed by a passing motorist as he dashes into the street to get an autograph from Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes), who played Blanche. Emotionally devastated, Manuela relocates to Barcelona in hopes of finding her ex-husband (and Esteban's father), who is now working as a female impersonator. Manuela becomes reacquainted with old friend La Agrado (Antonia San Juan), a transsexual, and is introduced to Sister Rosa (Penélope Cruz), a good-hearted nun who has to contend with her considerably more cynical mother (Rosa María Sardà). While looking for work, Manuela becomes acquainted with Huma Rojo. Huma, on the other hand, has troubles of her own, most involving her drug-addicted significant other, Nina (Candela Peña). Displaying Almodóvar's trademark visual style and a unusually strong sense of character-driven drama, Todo Sobre Mi Madre/All About My Mother received a highly anticipated theatrical run in Spain before winning the Best Director award at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival; in 2000, Almodóvar would receive the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, (more)
- 1997
In this Spanish-French comedy-thriller, porn queen Roxy Foxy (Bibi Andersen) is in Madrid promoting her new film and also scoring the orgasm-inducing aphrodisiac known as Blue Ice. Strip-club manager El Calvo (Jose Manuel Cervino) thinks the drug stash is safe with junkie Chano (Javier Manrique), but it's discovered by Carla (Maria Esteve). Other characters include an investigative journalist (Adria Collado), who is writing about Roxy, and a computer geek (Gustavo Salmeron), who spends so much time on the Internet that he leaves his partner Ana (Nathalie Sesena) sexually unfulfilled. The original title translates as Don't Talk to Me About Men Because I Get Atomic. Shown at the 1997 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cayetana Guillen Cuervo, Bibi Andersen, (more)
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.