Maria Esteve Movies

Spanish writer-director Emilio Martínez Lazáro's bawdy musical comedy romance Both Sides of the Bed (Los Dos Lados de la Cama, 2006) constitutes a sequel to that director's earlier musical The Other Side of the Bed (AKA El Otro Lado de la Cama, 2002). Just as that first film plays out the farcical romantic shenanigans of a group of single young men and their lovers, the sequel offers more of the same, but adds greater depth to the proceedings. The story finds Javier (Ernesto Alterio) and Marta (Veronica) celebrating their pending nuptials in a nightclub, on the evening before their wedding. They are accompanied by two friends romantically involved with one another, Pedro (Guillermo Toledo) and the chanteuse Raquel (Lucia Jimenez). The plans of each couple are soon undone by Marta's hesitation - the product of her undeclared lesbianism and carnal involvement with Raquel (evident when the women quietly slip off to the ladies' room and have intercourse). A third friend, Carlota (Pilar Castro), happens to stumble onto the women making it, but says nothing to the boys. The next morning, Marta jilts Javier, Raquel leaves Pedro, and the remainder of the film has the men gradually coming face-to-face with the girls' lesbianism, while forging a deeper bond with Carlota. Throughout the film, Lazáro laces his picture with bubble-gum music (predominantly breezy 1970s and 1980s Spanish pop hits) and electric choreography, performed by an ensemble of twenty dancers. In lieu of employing musical asides, the director integrates the musical numbers into individual scenes. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The Spanish comedy Dias de Futbol (Soccer Days), written and directed by The Other Side of the Bed screenwriter David Serrano, is an ensemble film about an ex-convict. Antonio (Ernesto Alterio) returns to his circle of friends. His associates include Jorge (Alberto San Juan), who is as repressed and fearful as Antonio is outgoing and fearless. Jorge pines for Antonio's sister Violetta (Natalia Verbeke), but she is not inclined to reciprocate those feelings. Antonio feels he knows a thing or two about people having undergone therapy in prison and decides to build up Jorge's self-confidence by forming a soccer team. Among the new teammates are local policeman Miguel (Luis Bermejo), ambitious young actor Charlie (Pere Ponce), and bus driver Ramon (Roberto Alamo). The travails in their personal lives and their coming together as a team form the action in this character-driven vehicle. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A close circle of friends and relatives become involved in a complicated game of musical beds in a spicy satirical comedy for adults. Angel (Sergi Lopez) is married to Ana (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), but while he stays with her for the sake of their four children, he hasn't been very happy in their relationship for some time, and is often unfaithful to his wife. Angel's brother, Hermano (Pepon Nieto), has just the opposite problem; his wife seems to have lost interest in him, and he discovers she's been having an affair with his boss. As Hermano tries to hold on to what's left of his pride, Ana becomes convinced Angel has been unfaithful to her, and in order to test her husband, she convinces her friend Amiga (Maria Esteve) to try and seduce Angel. The plan works a bit too well, and Amiga ends up sleeping with Angel. Ana tries to convince herself that this shouldn't affect her friendship with Amiga, but to spite her husband, she begins having an affair with Hermano -- something she keeps a secret from her husband until she finds him in flagrante delicto with his secretary. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A wealth of romantic and familial complications face a musician en route to Cuba in the comedy Cuarteto de la Habana. Walther (Ernesto Alterio) is a Spanish jazz musician who gets word from a woman in Havana named Lita (Mirtha Ibarra) that she is his mother, whom he hasn't seen since he was a baby. Walther, excited by the prospect of a family reunion, catches a flight to Cuba, where he meets Segis (Javier Camara), a man who is soon to marry Diana (Laura Ramos). When Walther meets Diana, it's love at first sight, but it turns out there's a hitch -- Diana is Lita's daughter, and though her father was not Walther's father, being half-siblings is still enough to throw a serious spanner into the works. Director Fernando Colomo previously received acclaim for his film The Butterfly Effect. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this Spanish comedy, a lonely love-struck female ambulance driver attempts to forge a romance with a pornographic comic artist. Though during her work day, Carlota (Maria Esteve) should be focusing on saving lives, she spends most of her time daydreaming about the lives of those passing by. Carlota meets the object of her latest obsession, known only as "Number One" (Coque Malla), in a local arcade. When not trying to win his affection, Carlota contends with her lesbian roommate Juan (Laura Aparicio) and her lover as well as the beautiful woman who seems to be Number One's girlfriend (Paulina Galvez). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi