Laia Marull Movies

As directed by Greek filmmaker Iannis Smaragdis and co-adapted by Smaragdis and Jackie Pavlenko from Dmitris Siatopoulos's heavily-fictionalized biographical novel Greco: The Painter of God, the (largely) English-language biopic El Greco tells a colorful version of the titular 16th Century Spanish Renaissance painter's life story. Born Domenikos Theotokopoulos on Crete in 1541 and portrayed here by Nick Ashdon, El Greco writes out his story as he sits in prison awaiting execution by the Spanish Inquisition, and the events of his life play out in extended flashbacks. The tale itself begins on the isle of Crete in 1566, when Domenikos falls for sensual Venetian Francesca (Dimitra Matsouka), daughter of the Cretean governor. Domenikos's father, however, attempts to lead a political rebellion on the island, which forces the young painter to be shuttled off to Venice and away from the young lass. Once there, his path intersects not only with the famed artist Titian (Sotiris Moustakas) but Nino de Guevara (Juan Diego Botto), a Spanish priest with not-so-subtle homosexual designs on this new arrival. Nino's actions spiral downward into destructive malevolence, and in time, he turns up as the chief Inquisitor in one of history's bloodiest and most notorious debacles - spurned, roiled by the knowledge that El Greco has taken a female partner, and itching to dole out a fatal reprisal on the painter who never became his lover. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

In this independent drama from filmmaker Eduard Bosch, Arian (Ingrid Rubio) is a naive but idealistic young woman of Basque heritage who falls in with a terrorist group fighting for the rights of her people. Hoping to prove her commitment, Arian volunteers to take part in a kidnapping organized by the Basque extremists, and she helps to abduct Isabel (Laia Marull), the daughter of a prominent businessman. However, as Arian watches over Isabel as they wait to hear if her ransom will be met, the unstable leader of the terrorists (Carlos Manuel Diaz) questions if Arian truly believes in the cause, forcing her to take matters far beyond the boundaries of safety or prudence. El Viaje de Arian was expanded from a short film Eduard Bosch had made some years earlier; the feature version was shown in competition at the 2000 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this blend of a family drama and a noir-styled crime thriller, Esteban (Eusebio Poncela) is a politician who shares a home with his cousin Daniel (Jorge de Juna); also living with the two men are Dona Esther (Isabel de Castro), Esteban's mother, and Patricia (Laia Marull), Daniel's wife. Dona Esther is the owner of the family business, a steel mill that becomes the source of drama when a shipment of drugs is stashed in the of the mill's delivery trucks. A gang of low-level crooks captures the truck as the dope is being delivered to Abdul (Juan Erasmo Mochi), a large-scale dealer. Abdul's son is killed in the crossfire, and Abdul swears revenge. Meanwhile, the mill is having money problems, and Santana (Alberto San Juan) is brought in to help put the business back on its feet. But Daniel has developed a drinking problem, and in his alcoholic haze he becomes convinced that Santana is having an affair with Patricia, who has a past as a drug dealer that she's trying to keep secret. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A "mensaka" is a motorbike messenger. In this Spanish drama, mensaka David (Gustavo Salmeron) is a drummer in a band about to sign a recording contract. Problems arise when drug dealer Ricardo (Guillermo Toledo) moves in with David and his girlfriend Bea (Laia Marull), while band member Javi (Tristan Ulloa) falls for junkie Cristina (Lola Duenas). Salvador Garcia Ruiz directed the Luis Marias screenplay, adapted from Jose Angel Manas's novel. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi